In the year 1917, Ford Model Ts roamed the streets, the United States officially entered World War I, and jazz music was first released to the masses. In that same year, a group of students at Emerson High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma were learning their scales, their arithmetic, and counting down the days until Thanksgiving.

How do we know this? Because a group of construction workers accidentally stumbled across a miraculous glimpse into the past.

Looking to update the white boards of Emerson High School, the administration hired a group of construction workers to take out the old boards and put up the new smart boards. They knew this would improve classroom efficiency and their students’ education, but they never imagined unveiling what they did.

After taking off the current white boards, the workers found there was an old layer of blackboards underneath, from just a couple decades before. They removed these old blackboards, needing to get to the bare wall to install the smart boards.

But after removing the blackboards, they found something startling: yet another layer of blackboards. Only these were quite different from the first layer they had just removed.

These blackboards were visibly older than the other layers and, most miraculous of all, were still covered in chalk markings. And we don’t mean blurred words or remnants of chalk dust — there were vivid drawings and legible writings covering these ancient-looking blackboards.

The most incredible thing on the chalkboards was a hand-drawn calendar with the date written above it: December, 1917.

A 100-year-old chalkboard had been sealed into the school walls, with all the drawings and writings of the school children and their teacher still completely intact. We’re unsure what the situation was that allowed these perfectly preserved chalkboards to be sealed into the wall without anyone knowing; perhaps it happened while the students were on holiday, considering it was obviously that time of year.

The rest of the chalkboard is just as jaw-dropping. An arithmetic lesson was being taught, using a method that the modern day teachers at Emerson had “never seen before.” There’s also “Rules for the Classroom,” instructions on how to color, musical scales, and black and white sketches of ships and log cabins.

In beautiful cursive, the following phrase is eloquently written: “I give my head, my heart, and my life to my God and One nation indivisible with justice for all.” We don’t know about you, but we definitely have the chills!

It was clear that November was just rolling into December, as the children were obviously preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving. A lesson about the pilgrims is written out on the board, as well as vibrantly colored drawings of pilgrim children and large turkeys.

These drawings might be the eeriest part of all, as put perfectly by English teacher Cinthea Comer.

“It was so eerie because the colors were so vibrant it looked like it was drawn the same day,” Comer said. “To know that it was drawn 100 years ago… it’s like you’re going into a looking glass into the past.”

Considering that Emerson High was built in 1895, the school has undergone many renovations and uncovered some mildly interesting things. Needless to say, nothing like this has ever been discovered before! What a fascinating look into the past for those administrators and for us.

What do you think of this historical discovery? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.