North Summit Unite formed as a nonprofit organization last year and has secured two RAP tax grants from Summit County to host community events.
The president of North Summit Unite, or NSU, is former Summit County deputy manager Anita Lewis who says with all of the new growth headed their way, they wanted to form an organization that would help keep their history alive.
“We would just like to really enhance what we already have and start telling our story,” Lewis explained. “As the North Summit area is under the pressure of new growth, we feel that it's important to talk about what's important to us preserve our heritage, really identify who we are and what we represent and just celebrate through different activities and promotional events.”
The idea for the Regional Roundup started when a community member, who raises draft horses, suggested they do wagon rides and from there, the idea grew into a city-wide tour of historic buildings, including the Summit County Courthouse and its resident ghost, Ike Potter.
“There have been some mysterious stories that’s been told about Ike Potter,” Lewis said. “So, we've had an individual in the area, Lynn Curtis, who's been doing a lot of research, and we're going to present through some actors, the Ike Potter story. We're going to have citizens be the jury and have them say, is he a hero? Or is he a villain? He or someone else put a curse on Coalville that Coalville would never prosper. And yes, his bones were in the Summit County Jail for a long time or the Summit County Courthouse. And yeah, it's a real deal . So, we're excited to portray his story and talk about it a little more.”
Lynn Wood is the treasurer of NSU. She says other buildings along the wagon route include the Coalville library, which was originally the town’s hospital, the Senior Center, which was the former train depot in Echo and a stop at the Ledges trailhead.
“There are hieroglyphs on that ledge right there. It is a very sacred and special place to the Native Americans,” Wood said. “And we actually have some performers coming who are descendants of the original tribe that was settled there in Coalville. So, it's incredibly special, they'll be performing dances, they'll be telling us about the symbolism of the rose that represents their tribe. And it's just important as we embrace the Braves mascot for North Summit High School for them to come and explain the symbolism behind some of the things we do.”
The event will take place Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Signs will direct drivers as they come into Coalville to parking areas and maps of the different horse-drawn wagon stops will be available. Participants can jump on and off the wagon ride at any stop.
