While Park City’s mining past may receive most of the attention when it comes to Summit County’s history, the Summit County Heritage Commission is hoping to change that. With the recent expansion of its board and new technology the group is hoping to bolster efforts to teach residents about the area’s other landmarks.
Recently retired Chair of the Heritage Commission Tom Clyde said the County, unlike Park City, doesn’t have a preservation ordinance or government intervention. Instead, it tries to build the appreciation of historical sites so the owners preserve them voluntarily.
“We have no huge commercial blocks to preserve,” Clyde said. “But there are a lot of nice old commercial buildings in Coalville with old school houses and churches scattered throughout the East Side. And usually people just drive past them and don’t even notice.”
Before the commission was established, a lot of old buildings were destroyed, but Clyde said they have seen some success recently.
“The old Boyden Drug building in Coalville is now a restaurant which is really cool,” he said. “And someone could poke around Echo for a whole day with all the historic buildings that are there. And the little church at Rockport State has been restored and is worth seeing.”
The Summit County Council voted last week to expand the Heritage Commission to six members so they could better manage their work load and try to preserve buildings throughout the county.
Patrick Putt, who has been on the Heritage Commission for eight years, said he hopes members can raise awareness of the diversity of Summit County.
“There is a bigger picture than the Park City history,” he said. “We were essential in transcontinental transportation and communication. We have Pony Express stops in Summit County and the Lincoln Highway which was one of the first interstate highways.”
Putt said the commission recently worked with landowners and the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission to preserve the Pace Ranch near Silver Creek Road and the Snyder family cemetery in the Sun Peak neighborhood. The commission is also currently trying to preserve a hotel that once housed Mark Twain and Pony Express Riders.
“The Kimball Hotel is located right off of Interstate 80 near Kimball Junction but no one really notices it or knows its history,” he said. “This hotel was where anyone traveling east to west would stay and we are really trying to open a dialogue with the landowners and make sure the building and its history remains.”
To help residents learn more about Summit County’s history and create a fun outing for the whole family, Summit County created historical driving tour maps that can be downloaded online. Each driving tour covers a different area, including Kamas and the Uintas, Echo and the Snyderville Basin.
“The tours are really well put together and not only point out the fun things to see, they also tell the history surrounding the buildings. One building can often explain the history of an entire area,” Putt said. “They make a nice Sunday drive or a bike ride and really show everyone thing we have to be proud of here.”
For more information or to download a driving tour, visit http://www.summitcounty.org/history.