Woman Buys Vintage Dress, Finds 19th-Century Coded Note Hidden Inside—Here’s What It Says:

Courtesy of Sara Rivers Cofield

An archaeologist by trade, Sara Colfield, 46, has always loved to collect vintage clothing as a hobby. Both in her work and spare time, she seeks to understand the lives of people now long gone.

In 2013, a vintage dress she had bought in a boutique led to her finding a coded message hidden inside a secret pocket. It opened a window into the past for a whole community.

Buying the Dress

After her parents had retired to Searsport, Maine, Ms. Colfield traveled from her home in Maryland to see them. There, she made the cryptic discovery.