A historic vault, constructed by the former Hamilton-based Mosler Safe Company, was designed to safeguard America’s founding documents. The vault, which protected the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights, was built in Hamilton, Ohio, and is now on display at the Butler County Historical Society.

Protecting America’s History

Brian Smith, executive director of the Butler County Historical Society, described the vault’s daily operation during its use. ‘Every day, they would basically be stored in the vaults, a 55-ton vault, they would hydraulically be lifted up to their display cases up on the floor of the National Archives. And then, every evening they would be lowered back down into the vault,’ Smith said.

The vault was designed to be blast-proof, waterproof, fireproof, shockproof, and capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. Hamilton was once known as the ‘vault capital of the world,’ and Mosler Safe Company received a government contract in 1952 to protect the nation’s founding documents.

Mosler earned the contract after World War II, when the U.S. Army noticed that one of the buildings in Hiroshima was less damaged than the rest due to the presence of two Mosler vaults. The vault was constructed in Hamilton, disassembled, transported by railcars to Washington, D.C., and reassembled. It protected the documents from 1952 until 2004, when a newer, computerized system replaced it.

Mosler also built vaults for Fort Knox, U.S. mints, and federal depositories. The Mosler vault is available for viewing at the Butler County Historical Society in Hamilton on Independence Day.

Original reporting: WLWT Cincinnati — read the source article.