The Vault
The Pritz’s left behind a mystery. In the old office, a safe had been built into one corner of the building. When the renovations of the building began, we found it filled with many things, but nothing tied to the woven label company. This left us baffled. Why would they need this space? Who built it? What was it used for? Who knew about it?
The MYstery
Our family began asking a lot of questions when we first took ownership of this historic property in 2016. The office building was beginning to fall down, but the old safe kept us wondering what happened here.
The vault was commonly believed to have been part of an old bank; however, we learned this was the personal vault of William and Annie Pritz, owners of the Kentucky Woven Label Company
The vault was installed in 1937 along with he original build.
Built by Mosler Bahmann & Company, the same who prior to WWII, built the vault for the Hiroshima Mitsui Bank that survived the nuclear attack. They also built the vault formerly used to display and store the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, as well as the gold vaults for the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.
Victor Page sat at a desk close to the safe and was not aware of its existence despite being just eight feet away.
HIDDEN SAFE?
After repeated interviews and conversations with previous employees of the company, we found that only two of the former employees knew anything about the safe. Many of the former employees have questioned whether Mr. Pritz may have built a false wall to keep it hidden in the event he would need a place of concealment or a place to stow valuable personal items.
VISIT THE SAFE
To view the safe and some of the history contained inside these walls, schedule a visit to the old Kentucky Woven Label Company, now the home of Kentucky Lumber.