Explore the Vault

Welcome to the Treasurer’s Office

The Treasurer’s Office is one of the most toured offices in the Capitol.  We have roughly 20,000 visitors each year from all over the world, and as you can guess, everyone comes to see the money.

We operate as the state’s bank. Money that is collected throughout the State comes to our office and we distribute it to specific agencies and departments to be spent. Approximately $70 million per day flows through the office either physically or electronically.

Our office in the State Capitol is responsible for cashing any valid state warrant, be it income tax refunds or state employee paychecks, for example. We function just like a bank; however, we do not give loans or have personal accounts.

Our vault is fortified with 33 tons of steel and concrete and four doors that secure the money. The largest door weighs 22,000 pounds (11 tons) or the weight of two full grown elephants, is over 100 years old, and operates on a time lock built by a Swiss clock maker.

In addition to a normal combination lock, we set the timers each day. Once the door is shut and locked, it cannot be opened again until the timers run out, even if you have the combination. This was a fantastic security measure installed to ensure the safety and security of the state’s money.

The door was shipped by train in 1912 to Little Rock from Hamilton, Ohio. Once the door arrived at the train station they had to move it about three blocks to the Capitol. They put the door on a wagon and tried to transport it to the Capitol construction site. However, the door weighed so much that the wagon broke.

They had to build a railroad spur and use a steam engine to move the door to the Capitol. Then, they built an inclined railroad tract from the base of the building to the second floor. The door was then brought through a hole in the north wall which is now a window and was hung and balanced. It has not been moved or rebalanced since.

Finally, there is a device on the wall that is used as an air-circulating mechanism. This device brings air from the outside, into the vault, and simultaneously sucks air from inside and pushes it out. This device was installed in the instance that anyone was locked inside the air-tight vault. Thankfully, that has never happened.