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Today when most people see a safe, they associate it with the storage and protection of money. The safe located in the front hallway of the courthouse, however, likely never housed money. The safe for that purpose would have been located inside of an office where only a handful of particular people would have access to it. County tax dollars would not be stored in such a very public place.

Instead of money, this safe probably held some types of records managed by the counties. Counties are responsible for holding a large collection of records, including marriage licenses, birth certificates, property deeds, and many others. Imagine the chaos that could erupt if all of these records were lost in a fire. By placing such records in fireproof safes, counties ensured the continued preservation of these important papers.

Had anyone ever tried to break in to any of the courthouse safes when the building was new, it is likely they would have passed out before ever completing the job. One of the most modern technologies used to protect the contents of safes in the late 19th century was tear gas. Criminals of the day often tried to open safes by dynamiting the safe’s door. The blast of the dynamite would break fragile glass vials of the gas, which would immediately be released, overcoming the would-be thief.