More than 100 people gathered Saturday, July 18, on West Main Street in Lehi to watch descendants of two merchant families unveil a historical marker at the building known as the Colonial House. The marker honors the Lehi Union Exchange, a cooperative store founded in 1868 by Israel and David Evans, and Racker Mercantile, established in 1904 by William E. Racker.

Lehi City Council member Emily Lockhart used the ceremony to draw a direct line between those early merchants and the tech companies now clustered along I-15.

"From the merchants of Main Street to the innovators of Silicon Slopes, this city has always been built by people with the courage to try, the humility to learn, and the determination to keep going," Lockhart said.

The Lehi Union Exchange opened July 23, 1868, two months before Brigham Young formally organized Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution in Salt Lake City, according to the Lehi Historical Society. Israel Evans had studied a cooperative store in Rochdale, England, while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1850s, then brought the model home. Residents traded produce for goods at the Exchange, and its success caught Brigham Young's attention. The store became a ZCMI subsidiary and operated until 1880.

The marker's east-facing side honors Racker Mercantile. William E. Racker combined adjacent buildings into a Renaissance Revival-style storefront with carved centerpiece and lion-head ornaments. Over the decades, the building housed an armory, hardware and grocery stores, a dance hall, and reception centers.

Joel M. Racker of Highland, William E. Racker's great-grandson, spoke at the ceremony. He said he hopes the marker reminds future generations that "one person's vision and determination can leave a lasting mark — not only on a street corner, but on an entire community."

Katie Tuft, great-great-granddaughter of Israel Evans, told the crowd Lehi's "once little town has turned into a world leader in business and technology, with a new generation of pioneers continuing on in their spirit."

The installation is the first in the Lehi Historical Marker Program to feature two separate tributes on a single marker. It is the 21st of 36 planned markers the program aims to place around the city. The program launched in 2022 with funding from a Lehi City PARC grant and the Hadfield family of HADCO Construction, with sponsorships from Strata Networks and SIRQ Construction.

The next unveiling in the series will honor the People's Co-Operative Institute at 151 E. State St. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m.