SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) – Utah’s very first hospital opened its time capsule after leaving it to sit dormant for 150 years.
St. Mark’s Hospital along with its board of trustees opened the hospital’s time capsule on Monday, unveiling 150 years of history at its facility.
Some of the items found in the time capsule were:
• A hymnal, for The Protestant Episcopal Church, published in 1874
• A prayer book published in 1886
• A handwritten history of St. Mark’s Hospital, believed to be from the 1890s, that includes the names of members of the Board of Trustees at the time, architects, contractors and a superintendent for a hospital project
• Copies of the following newspapers dated Saturday, July 30, 1892:
o The Salt Lake Times newspaper
o Deseret Evening News
• A copy of The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper from Sunday morning, July 31, 1892
• A Saturday, July 23, 1892 copy of The Churchman, an Illustrated Weekly News-Magazine
• Volume VI of The Church Notes (Nevada and Utah) dated July 1892
• Several photographs of representatives of St. Mark’s Hospital including physicians, board of directors and members of the facility’s building committee ranging from 1889 – 1892
• The 1970 Candy Striper Roster for St. Mark’s Hospital volunteers
• A list of employees at St. Mark’s Hospital – organized by title and medical specialty, including but not limited to supervisors, administration, admitting, etc. – during June 1971
o According to the directory, as of June 6, 1971, there were 656 employees at St. Mark’s
• Photos and an article from the Thursday, May 13, 1971 issue of The Salt Lake Tribune, detailing the opening of the first cornerstone box before the items was combined
• A copy of the Deseret News on Monday, June 7, 1971; the title of the article on the front page is, “9 Utahns Killed In Air Collision;” the subheading reads, “DC9, F4 Crash: Total Of 50 Die,” detailing the Air West Jet Flight 706 – en route to Salt Lake City – which crashed east of Los Angeles after a midair collision with a Marine Corps jet
o A Sunrise Edition copy of The Salt Lake Tribune on June 7, 1971, detailing the above story
• The June 1971 St. Mark’s Hospital Auxiliary Membership List
• A 1971 United States Proof Set of coins packaged by the U.S. Mint, including a half dollar, a penny, a nickel, a dime, and a quarter
“I have certainly never celebrated anything that was 150 years old and then to be able to find out that
there was a time capsule as part of the long history and tradition of this organization, we were very
excited,” Jeremy Bradshaw, St. Mark’s CEO, said during Monday’s time capsule event.
Bishop Rev. Daniel S. Tuttle of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah founded St. Mark’s Hospital in 1872. The
hospital is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2022.
The hospital says it will work to properly preserve the items found inside the time capsule. The facility plans to display them in a possible pop-up museum and later, on-site for the public to access and enjoy.
