Echo Railroad Depot
The Echo Railroad Depot was moved to its present site in Coalville in 1975.
In 1861, the town of Echo, Utah was founded. When tracks were laid down in Echo, the town shifted from an agricultural community to a railway hub. By 1869, the first of many trains passed through the area and its first railway station. As was common, young men flocked to Echo for work on the railway. Once this initial depot was completed, only a small number of these men remained in the town to settle down and continue work in the area.
By 1880, a second depot was completed and was used until 1913, when a third and final depot was erected. It was a popular and important place for much of northern Summit County. People came from miles around to receive the latest news, telegrams, and the results of sports games. The building also had living quarters for the acting agent and his family. A kitchen, pantry, living room and 2 bedrooms. Occasionally, extra space was used for newcomers until they found homes nearby.
The town continued to grow and thrive thanks to these depots, drawing people and resources into the town. One of the depot's employees, Mike Tsoukatos, a native of Greece, designed an elaborate garden outside the depot and named it the Park. Tsoukatos used his own money to bring in beautiful plants and flowers that were the envy of all gardeners in the area. Sadly, when Tsoukatos retired, the garden was left neglected and was eventually laid over with gravel to make a parking lot.
As time passed and railways gave way to other modes of transportation, the town morphed from vital to unneccessary and unknown. In 1960, the final steam engine made its way through the Echo Railroad Depot. However, thanks to the efforts of Henry Pennybaker, Pennybaker and other volunteers moved the building to its present location just west of the Summit County Fairgrounds in Coalville. It serves as the North Summit County Senior Citizen Center.
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