Charles T. Hayden built a store and a freighting headquarters on the Salt River; October 1871 is considered to be the “official” founding day of the city of Tempe, Arizona. In 1870, Charles and his family built the Hayden Flout Mill. The mill opened two years later and helped to strengthen the town now known as Tempe.

When the mill first opened, over 125 years ago, Charles used thousands of bushels of Maricopa and Pima Native American corn along with wheat for the flour his mill produced. However the local Indian food system collapsed after forty years. After the collapse, the mill received grain from the city of Lehi, Utah.

In the 1920’s the mill converted to electricity after using four French mills, powered by water from the Salt River. Over time the mills were replaced with high-capacity milling rollers.

Bay State Milling bought out the Hayden Family Mill in 1981.

Due to corporations buying up local mills across the United States; the number of mills went from 23,000, in 1873, down to 201, in 1998. In that time the Hayden Flour Mill suffered many fires and eventually shut their doors in 1998.

The Hayden Flour Mill stayed closed for 15 years. In 2012, the city of Tempe bought and restored the Hayden Mill to its original condition as a historical site. Today the mill also produces flour just as it did in the 1870s when operated by the Hayden Family. The millers grind organic grains and grow most grains locally. The workers collaborate with farmers, chefs and conservationists to help revive the local grain economy of Arizona in the spirit of the 1872 Hayden Flour Mill and its original owner Charles T. Hayden.