05/12/2026
Hidden in the basement of the historic Farmers & Merchants Bank, we uncovered a bundle of original promissory notes from 1923–1924, issued to the Turner family. One note alone exceeds $1,500, with smaller notes—$50, $120, $48.30—issued throughout the year, forming what we’d now call a line of credit.
Each note is signed by hand and sealed with red revenue stamps, making them legally binding contracts. But the real weight sits behind them—an accompanying chattel mortgage that put everything on the line: livestock, equipment, the very means of making a living. If the debt wasn’t paid, it wasn’t just numbers that were lost—it was everything.
Real people. Real risk. Real decisions made in rooms just above where we now build.
As The Vault takes shape below ground, these discoveries are more than history—they are the foundation of what this space will become.
Because when those doors open, you won’t just be stepping into a speakeasy—you’ll be stepping into a place where every story has already been lived.
