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Gallery

Bicentennial Time Capsule

North St. Paul's Buried Treasure

From 1976 to 1978: Items were collected by North St. Paul's community members and placed inside the metal time capsule
Items were sealed inside by K&G Research Company
December 27, 1978: Time capsule was buried outside the original library building, now the North Star Museum
June 15, 2026: Time capsule was unearthed
June 25, 2026: The City of North St. Paul, the North St. Paul Historical Society, and the North Star Museum of Boy Scouting & Girl Scouting hosted a joint event where the contents of the Bicentennial Capsule were on display. The community showed up in large numbers for the live band, food trucks, costume contest, street dancing, and to celebrate the time capsule.
Contents are currently on display at the North St. Paul Historical Society.

See our Events page for more information!

June 15, 2026: Unearthing the Time Capsule

Donors dropped off items at the library.

Items were collected from 1976 to 1978.

K&G Research Company employee sealed the capsule.

December 27, 1978

Folks who were present at the burial.

Capsule being lowered in the ground.

North St. Paul officials shoveled dirt on top (a sidewalk added later) to bury the capsule.

The Cannon

The Cannon's Back Again!

On February 4, 2026, city workers temporarily removed the cannon from its most recent home outside of the North St. Paul Historical Society.
In May 2026, the cannon was returned to its place outside of the museum because refurbishment was more complicated and expensive than anticipated.
It continues to be a piece of our North St. Paul history despite its need for a fresh coat of paint.

The cannon was installed in 1925 in Cannon Park, formerly known as Central Park. Cannon Park is now known as Veterans Memorial Park.

The cannon is a 6-inch Howitzer, Model of 1908 made in 1911 by Bethlehem Steel for $1,500. It originally had wooden spokes and inner wheel rims. It has never been fired.

The American Legion created a WWI memorial to North St. Paul veterans which included the cannon, machine guns, and a plaque with 150 names of those who served, including eight who died.

Originally, the cannon had two .30 caliber Browning water-cooled machine guns on either side.

The machine guns were vandalized and one was stolen. Eventually, the remaining one was removed.

These three photos are the only known photos with the machine guns pictured.

By 1984, the plaque was covered in green paint and graffiti. The wooden wheels were falling apart.

The cannon was partially restored in 1989. Pictured from left are Mayor Bill Sandberg, restoration coordinator Charles Schleicher, and American Legion Commander Bill Crowther after a complete restoration in 1997.

After temporarily living in the American Legion's building for protection, the restored plaque was placed in the Veterans Memorial Park.

When the VFW and the American Legion decided to create the Veterans Memorial Park, they wanted to celebrate the people rather than the weapons, so the cannon was left at the former veterans park next to the North St. Paul Historical Museum.