If you take the first hard right into Summit Hill coming east on Route 902, you’ll be on Chestnut Street. One of the first things you’ll pass is an old stone wall beside a wide-open park with a few trees.

The sprawling commons, officially called Summit Hill Community Memorial Park, is surrounded by an old stone wall with a gate opening.

What you might not know is that park is a cemetery with at least 170 people interred there. Yet there are no headstones or grave markers.

Buried there are some of the first settlers in the area; entire families, most of them mine workers. In addition, there are graves of more than a dozen Civil War veterans.

The plot is well manicured, although it isn’t used for much of anything except for people walking their dogs or merely navigating the paths for exercise.

That might soon change.

Borough resident Marlene Basiago has formed a committee that is raising funds to revitalize the park, which encompasses a full square block.

In addition, she has enlisted drafting students from the Carbon Career & Technical Institute to draw up formal plans for the site’s reincarnation.

“There’s a great deal of history in the park,” Basiago said.

She envisions it not only to be a place where individuals can enjoy the serene ambience, but possibly a place to feature small concerts or events and even attract tourists.

A fund drive was started by the committee to raise money for the installation of benches, pavers and solar lamp posts, and to enhance the deteriorating wall that hems in the facility.

Basiago is a member of Summit Hill Borough Council but is not acting in a council capacity in the restoration efforts. Other committee members are Sheila Kozuch, the Rev. Ruthann Christopher, Ed and Terri Kane, John Kupec, Maxine and Lou Vermillion, MaryAnn Szczecina and Mayor Karen Ruzicka.

An appeal letter for funds has been sent to Summit Hill residents for support of the project.

Basiago said, “Right now (in the park) there are no seats or bleachers. It’s not handicapped accessible. There’s a great deal of history in the park. One, it’s a cemetery. (Morgan Powell, a mining superintendent killed by members of the Molly Maguires, is buried here). There’s a tomb of the unknown soldiers. A memorial monument is dedicated to miners of the Panther Valley who gave their lives.”

It is located across the street from the Summit Hill Historical Society, she said, adding that other significant historical sites of interest are the Switchback Railroad, history of coal mining and a connection with the planned 9/11 Memorial Trail.

She feels enhancing the park could increase tourism, which “would bring an improvement to the area economically. It would attract businesses which would be an asset.”

The Old Presbyterian Cemetery, possibly the first major cemetery in Summit Hill, was converted into a town park in 1972. At the time, it wasn’t maintained and nearby residents complained about rodents being a problem. In addition, many stones on the wall had crumbled.

Originally it was deeded to the Presbyterian Church in 1850 by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Community members rallied for the site’s improvement and rededicated it in 1974 as “Summit Hill Community Memorial Park.”

It precedes the nearby GAR (Grand Army Republic) Cemetery, which was established in 1854.

Although benches, pavers and solar lights are the first phase of the renovation, Basiago said plans call for cleaning the deteriorating stone wall, replace missing stones, and apply mortar to the cracks and holes in the wall.

She said, “Our final phase of this major project will involve erecting a large plaque at the center of the walkway to commemorate the park’s and cemetery’s history, as well as placing small plaques and monuments within the park.”

The students from the CCTI, all seniors, who are providing drafting services for the project are under the guidance of instructor Jeremy Pease. Leading the team of students is Summit Hill resident Adam Gardiner, a senior. Other students are Edison Mitchell, Panther Valley; Gavin Smale, Palmerton; Jared Martilla, Jim Thorpe; and Steven Lilly, Lehighton.

Gardiner, who plans to attend Marywood University and major in architecture, said he’s happy to be working on the project, stating, “I like Summit Hill.”

He said the schematic details placement of memorial benches, local of solar-power lamp posts, installation of a plaque and a flower garden.

To come up with the specifics that are envisioned, the students took a tour of the park with the committee members and took precise measurements.

Gardiner explained that the drafting program at CCTI entails hand sketching, computer layouts and expanding into mechanical and architectural drawings. He said the class gets a vast knowledge of the drawing, saying, “We did whole towns, apartments, hotels and benches.”

Making the park handicapped accessible is a priority for Gardiner. He said, “I like to pay attention to ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) because what’s a building or facility if someone can’t get into it.”

This is Pease’s 15th year as an instructor at CCTI. He said he did engineering work for 14 years before his job at the technical institute.

The Summit Hill park is not the first community project of Pease’s students. He said, “We’re here for the community to serve those as best we can. The students love to get out in the community and put their skills to work.”

Not all the projects the students undertake come to fruition.

Three years ago, his students drew up plans for the Lansford Train Station.

Last year, Lansford Alive used their services for designing improvements in the area of Patterson and Center streets.

Without funding, though, the projects sometimes don’t materialize.

“We do internal projects everyday with other tech areas (of the school) to integrate the programs,” Pease said, noting he presently has about a dozen students in class.

He said he urges the students to let their creativity flow. “Often they come up with a problem and I them resolve it,” he said.