NEWTON FALLS, Ohio – Last week was spring break for Lynn Sanders’ daughter, Sydney.
So what drew the mother and daughter from Hudson, joined by two of their neighbors, here last Tuesday?
The lure of a cash prize that has grown to more than $32,000.
“We were looking for something to do. She thinks she can win a treasure,” Sanders said. “She did some research on it, so we’re here.”
The Newton Falls Treasure Hunt is the brainchild of Tom Colosimo, owner of Fieldview Acres Mercantile, one of several small shops and restaurants that line Broad Street in the Trumbull County village’s downtown.
Colosimo and his wife, Tracy, have operated their antique shop about five and a half years, he said. During that time, about 20 businesses “have come and gone” in the downtown area.
“It’s a hard town to survive in,” he lamented. He had come up with other ways to draw tourism and traffic to the downtown, including securing a National Register of Historic Places designation for the district, but they didn’t have the intended effect.
He then saw a story on a popular social media platform about an eccentric billionaire, Forest Fenn, who buried $1 million in gold, silver and jewels somewhere in the Rocky Mountains in 2010.
The treasure was discovered after a decade – and after drawing more than 350,000 people to search for it.
“That was my a-ha moment,” Colosimo recalled. Inspired, he decided to do his own treasure hunt in conjunction with America250, the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Colosimo began posting the first clues on Fieldview Acres’ Facebook page March 3, and they will be posted Tuesdays at noon every two weeks until all the clues are released. They also are posted on the store’s Instagram and TikTok pages, as well as at his shop, 36 W. Broad St., where he has maps highlighting various downtown venues and landmarks available.
“The goal is to make this go into summer,” he said. Since it is tying into the semiquincentennial, the last clue will be posted around Independence Day, July 4.
The first post received more than 4.2 million views, he reported. His business’s page on Facebook has grown substantially.
Colosimo started with a $1,000 hidden prize, but contributions have snowballed, something he didn’t anticipate. The prize’s value has accumulated to more than $32,000, with more than 60 sponsors, he said.
Among the sponsors is Sarchione Chevrolet Garrettsville in Garrettsville.
“We understand how tough it is to run a business in a small community,” said Paul McEwuen, general manager. “When you run a business in a small community, you’re focusing on those communities to help you feed your employees, and you have to get customers from outside the community to come in and support these small businesses.”
McEwuen donated a coin commemorating the semiquincentennial, now valued at $5,700. In addition, the dealership is donating $50 for every new vehicle sold through July 4, which already has added more than $1,000 to the total.
“If it’s not found by July 4, we should have another probably $4,000 on top of that, so we’re trying to get this thing over $50,000 before it’s found,” he said. “That’s my goal. But it could be found tomorrow.”
One unexpected twist has been that some of the treasure hunters themselves have contributed to the prize. “They’re looking for the treasure, hoping to find it, but they’re also throwing money into it,” Colosimo said.
Downtown merchants affirmed the promotion succeeded in driving business. Restaurant owners who not long ago had posted they might have to close their doors from lack of business are now seeing lines out the door, Colosimo confirmed. His own shop’s sales have more than doubled.
“I’ve seen a lot of increased activity,” said Pam Talanca, owner of Broad Street Vintage. Several people from out of town have entered her store and told her they hadn’t been aware of the shops here. Business is up by at least a third, she said.
“There’s way more foot traffic downtown,” another of Colosimo’s downtown neighbors, Lillian McGinnis, said. Her restaurant, Broken Leaf Cafe, 38 W. Broad St., probably has seen business increase by 50%, she estimated.
In May, McGinnis will mark three years operating Broken Leaf Cafe. Business typically fluctuates between “decently busy days” to ones when barely anyone comes in, she acknowledged. January and February typically are particularly slow, so the boost in business from the treasure hunt helps.
“It’s brought in new people who have never been to Newton Falls. It’s brought in people that didn’t know that we were even here,” she remarked.
So far, the treasure hunt has drawn participants from 18 states and four different countries that Colosimo is aware of. “A guy from Germany contacted me saying that he’s coming next month if the treasure isn’t found,” he said.
Sanders and her group were headed into Broken Leaf to make their plan.
“Do I think we’re going to find anything today? Probably not, but it’ll be fun,” she said.
McGinnis said she hoped that once the treasure hunt has concluded that people will continue to explore “different places that they’ve never been to.” Colosimo plans to do another hunt next year, which will continue to bring people into Newton Falls, she reported.
“There’s a lot more people exploring the history of our downtown, which is good. We have a lot of history here and a lot of things that you can learn just from walking around,” she said.
“Once people come to Garrettsville and Newton Falls, they’re going to love it, and they’re going to come back,” McEwuen predicted.
The treasure hunt “is doing what I wanted,” Colosimo said. Its ultimate goal was to get people to see Newton Falls as a treasure.
“I was hoping that people would come see this place and visit often and come back and see everything we have to offer,” he remarked.
Pictured at top: Tom Colosimo, owner of Fieldview Acres Mercantile.