Hayden Flour Mill Archaeology

Hayden Flour Mill:
Landscape, Economy, and Community Diversity in Tempe, Arizona

The dramatic Tempe Butte and the historic Hayden Flour Mill buildings are among Tempe’s most significant natural and cultural features. While the City of Tempe proceeds with downtown revitalization and development, thoughtful planning is also underway to insure that these and other aspects of Tempe’s unique place and character are protected and preserved.

It is a City of Tempe priority to recover significant historic information, preserve significant cultural resources where possible, and develop prehistoric and historic resources for public interpretation and heritage tourism. In March 2006, the City announced the start of the one-year Hayden Flour Mill Archaeological Testing Project, an essential step toward meeting its commitment to local history. This archaeological testing program will yield critical information for evaluating the condition and significance of archaeological and architectural resources on the Hayden Flour Mill property at the foot of Tempe Butte.

Research findings will be used to prepare a professional Historic Preservation Plan, including a detailed “treatment plan” for the area. The treatment plan will consider the variety of historic preservation needs of the City. For example, one recommendation might be to conduct further archaeological research to clear areas for future development. Another recommendation might include suggestions for the adaptive reuse of the historic structures.

The Hayden Flour Mill Archaeological Project is funded by a generous grant from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community with additional support from the City of Tempe, Tempe Historical Museum and Tempe Historic Preservation Office.

The project area is located along the western edge of Tempe Butte. It is bordered on the north by Rio Salado Parkway, on the west by Mill Avenue, and on the south by the proposed Valley Metro Light Rail right-of-way. The landmark Hayden Flour Mill complex is a prominent historic feature within the project area.

The Hayden Archaeological Research Project builds on previous studies sponsored by the City, such as excavations prior to construction of the Rio Salado Parkway and a comprehensive study of Tempe Butte’s cultural resources. New research will help to shed light on the contributions of local groups to community history. Pima and Maricopa Indians, Mexican-Americans, Euro-Americans and other settlers are all known to have lived in the vicinity of Tempe Butte in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. In some cases, little is yet known about these early communities.

The project includes several important, related components, which will be completed over the next year: 1) an intensive archival project 2) archaeological testing for both prehistoric and historic features 3) historic architectural investigations of the Mill and silos and 4) preparation of a historic preservation plan for the project area.

The archival component will occur in two stages. The first stage includes preliminary library research to provide important background data needed for the archaeological testing plan and the initiation of fieldwork. The second stage will occur while the archaeological and historic architecture investigations are underway. The results of this more in-depth archival research will further support analysis and interpretation of the fieldwork.

Up to 22 backhoe trenches will be placed in key locations within the project area during the archaeological testing component. Trenching is a very common strategy that archaeologists use to identify the nature and extent of prehistoric and historic cultural remains.

The data collected during testing will allow ACS to identify and assess the significance of the cultural resources in the project area through time. Archaeological field work will begin in late June 2006 and will continue through the end of July 2006. Before the fieldwork can begin, concrete pads from the old Hayden warehouse foundations to the north and west of the Mill Building will be removed using large backhoes. Removing those concrete pads will expose portions of the original Tempe townsite where test excavations will be focused during this project. The concrete removal will begin in mid- to late-May 2006.

The historic architectural investigations will provide important information about the Hayden Flour Mill buildings and assist with decision-making regarding their adaptive reuse and interpretation for the public.

Aug 14-18, 2006 Historic Architecture Field Investigation

Sept 1, 2006 Historic Architecture: Prelim Reporting of Preservation Priorities

Sept 14 , 2006 City Council Meeting - ACS Data Recovery budget and scope reviewed

Sept 29 , 2006 ACS Data Recovery work plan due to Hayden Committee

Oct 16-20 , 2006 Removal of overburden and concrete recording (if approved by Committee by this date)

Oct 23-27 , 2006 Concrete removal ( if approved by Committee by this date )

Oct 30, 2006 Final work plan due to Hayden Committee

Nov 6-22 , 2006 Archaeological fieldwork (may begin a day or two earlier in the previous week to
ensure completion by Thanksgiving)

Feb 14 , 2007 Preliminary Archaeological Report due to Hayden Committee (12 weeks after end of fieldwork) .

Dec 14 , 2007 Draft Final Report due (10 months after prelim report) Complete analyses results from all the
investigation components, synthesis, and interpretative conclusions.

March 14, 2008 Final Draft Report submitted to City of Tempe.

May 14, 2008 Curation of project materials at Tempe Historical Museum

Where can I get additional information about archaeology in general?

Archaeology for the Public is now live at http://www.saa.org/public. A useful resource for your next outreach activity, public session, archaeology month event, and college course! Archaeology for the Public is a project of the Public Education Committee of the Society for American Archaeology.