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35°11’58.36N by 101°54’47.91W

The Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument was erected in Amarillo, Texas during 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of helium. The site was selected for the monument because Amarillo has been the center of activities related to helium since 1927.

The Time Columns Monument consists of four stainless steel time capsules, which are to be opened 25, 50, 100, and 1,000 years from 1968.

About 4,000 items were sealed in the columns. Items include a dehydrated apple pie, United States coins and currency of all denominations, seeds, and much more. An imaginative item is a passbook for a $10 savings account from an Oklahoma City bank, which draws 4 percent interest compounded annually until 2968. When the 1,000-year Column is opened, the account will be worth over $1,000,000,000,000,000 ($1 quadrillion).

Your Task
See the 6-story stainless steel monument celebrating the location of world’s largest supply of Helium! 90% of the World’s Helium Supply comes from this area. Use the GPS coordinates, visit the site, and let us know about what you experienced. Post your comments.

Historical Marker Text
Erected 1968, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of discovery of helium in the gaseous atmosphere surrounding the sun. (The discovery of traces of helium on earth was first announced in 1895.) The four time columns are filled with books, documents, and various artifacts that will tell future generations about life in 1968. After the time columns were filled, the caps were welded on and the contents sealed in a helium atmosphere. In twenty-five, fifty, one-hundred, and one thousand years from the time of filling, the four individual columns are to be opened. Helium is an element which occurs in commercial volume in natural gas produced since 1918 from wells in the Texas Panhandle. In 1929 the first of several helium processing plants began operations near Amarillo. Large quantities of helium extracted from natural gas are stored underground northwest of Amarillo, and will provide a valuable source of supply for many years. Once used only in lighter-than-air craft, helium now serves vital needs in industry, science, and the nation's military and space programs. (1968)