Tempe’s Hidden Past Through Vintage Photos | Mesa News

Mesa News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 29, 2026 · 2m

Step back in time with Tempe’s hidden gems—from Niels Petersen’s pioneering family to the Salt River Valley News printing from a blacksmith shop. Discover how cotton harvesting shaped daily life, and uncover Charles Trumbull Hayden’s secret 1892 will. Explore pivotal moments like the Eighth Street School’s controversy, the 1905 flood that destroyed the railroad bridge, and cowboys on ostrich farms. Witness the rise of local institutions: the Tempe National Bank, the Atwood Hotel (later Casa Loma), and even the quirky Blue Law of 1916. See how the Tempe Cotton Exchange burned down in 1917, and…