As part of the documentation of the flour mill, ACS recorded a wonderful old safe, which is located in what once were the front offices of the Mill Building . The safe is a piece of history itself, built sometime in the early 1870s by Hall’s Safe & Lock Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, and appears to have been embellished specifically for the Hayden Flour Mill. Historically, Tempe was named for the “ Vale of Tempe ”—a playground of the gods from Greek mythology—due to its beauty and lushness. The Vale of Tempe is portrayed on the inside of the safe doors, clearly customized by the safe company for its intended destination and use. The safe apparently came through relatively unscathed from the fire of 1917 that burned down the old adobe Hayden Flour Mill. It was placed in the new mill building and at some point in the early 20th century it was permanently installed with concrete surrounding it on all sides but the front. The interior of the safe was also refurbished at some later time, likely during the 1930s or 1940s given the material used. The original wood shelving was replaced with thin plywood, commonly used during the Depression, and the new configuration was customized for the needs of the modern mill.
