Layton's Gentile Street is not Unique -- There's a Gentile Valley Road in Southeast Idaho

 

                                                     Gentile Street sign in Layton, Utah.

For those familiar with Layton, Utah, the City’s most unusual road name is Gentile Street. Like most people -- even most historians-- they believe it was so named because some non-Mormons (“Gentiles”) lived on that street when it was only a west Layton road. 

However, I’ve come to believe it was the waystation for travelers on the connecting Bluff Road emigration trail, where its name came from, because that is where the only non-Mormons in the early community were, as they operated the station. (The early residents who lived on west Gentile Street were actually LDS Church members, but simply inactive, or called “Jack Mormons” back in the day.)

                         Gentile Valley Road sign in Thatcher, Idaho, near the Bear River.

Notwithstanding the name’s origin, it is not a unique feature, as over the weekend I found another “Gentile” street, this one in southeast Idaho. This road is near the Bear River, in Thatcher, Idaho (west of Niter and southwest of Grace.) Where did this “Gentile Valley” road name come from? Grace, Idaho, and today’s Gem Valley, was settled by non-Mormons in 1865 and after Brigham Young sent church members to settle there in the 1870s, tensions grew. The Bear River became a boundary of sorts then. If you were Mormon, you were supposed to live on the east side of the Bear River; and non-Mormons the west side. In those days, the Grace valley was called the "Gentile Valley." It was not renamed Gem Valley until the early 20^th Century, when religious tensions finally eased.

And, then there’s nearby Soda Springs, about 11 miles away and northeast of Grace. But, where is the actual Soda Spring? I mean, the Soda water springs? There's a Hooper Springs, north of town, but no Soda. Is it the geyser in town? No. Soda Springs, a spring, is now located under Alexander reservoir, which backs up the Bear River. Also, "Soda Springs" was not that water source's original name either. "Beer Springs" was what trappers first called it. Mormon settlers obviously changed the name later.

 

 

New Layton, Utah History book now available

There's a new Layton, Utah history book, that premiered on October 26, 2020, from Arcadia Publishing in its "Images of America" line.

The book is written by Lynn Arave, also author of this Mystery of Utah History blog.

With more than 170 photographs, this book would make a great gift for any new or long-time Layton resident, or someone who grew up in Layton City.

(There's also a new history blog to accompany this book at: https://laytonutahhistory.blogspot.com/)

--NOTE that the book was delayed by the publisher for 5 months, from May to October 2020, because of the Coroniavirus.

-IF you would like a copy of the new history book on Layton, Utah, you can order it from a variety of sources for $21.99, or less:

--on Amazon


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781467104968&i=stripbooks&linkCode=qs


--Or from Barnes and Noble at:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/layton-lynn-arave/1135498880;jsessionid=BBCAF0636AA08D36361AFE15AF583EBC.prodny_store01-atgap01?ean=9781467104968


--Or from the publisher, Arcadia at:

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467104968

IF you can't decide if you'd like to purchase a copy of the book, a free 31 page preview of the 127-page book is available from Google at:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Layton/m0PZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22lynn+Arave%22&printsec=frontcover

1886: The first-ever reference to a community called 'Layton'?

LAYTON, Utah is Davis County’s premier city. It is common history that Layton is an outgrowth of Kaysville City. Layton separated from Kaysville in 1902-1907 and became its own official town in 1920.

But when was the “Layton” name first used?

-It is very likely that name came along in the mid-1880s. In fact, the very first newspaper reference to Layton being its own community, separate from mother Kaysville City, was published on May 7, 1886 in the Ogden Herald newspaper.

“The town of Layton is building up rapidly,” the Herald stated. “There is good demand for everything a farmer raises.”

-Another key reference to Layton, perhaps the first occasion in the Deseret News was on May 4, 1887, where a report on an artesian well was sent “from Layton, Davis County.”

(This water report was also significant, because it noted the very first time that Weber River water was used in Kaysville and Layton.)

-A third, separate reference to Layton was on June 10, 1887, in the Salt Lake Herald newspaper, where people from both Kaysville and Layton boarded a special train to take residents age 70 and over, to an Old Folks’ Day in Ogden.

-A fourth reference to Layton as a distinct area was published in the Ogden Daily Standard of July 26, 1890.

“A wreck on the Utah Central” was the headline and the story stated: “The passenger train which left here (Ogden) at 6 o’clock last evening, ran into a freight at Layton, one mile north of Kaysville.”

-How did the Layton name come about?

It was very likely because Christopher Layton, an early area pioneer, was also the first LDS Church Bishop in what was becoming its own, separate area. Since Kaysville was named after William Kay, an early settler and church leader there, hence the Layton name.

Yet newspaper references or not, the actual Layton took longer to fully create.

The Deseret News on Sept. 29, 1890 still referred to the Kaysville First Ward and the Kaysville Second Ward as the only two ecclesiastic districts in the area.

According to the Davis County Clipper newspaper of May 6, 1892,

members of the Kaysville Second Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints actually resided in what most recognized as Layton

territory and not Kaysville. Hence, some church members circulated a

petition in 1892, asking church leaders to rename the ward to what it really

was – the Layton Ward.

This was one of the first signs that Layton residents wanted their own

community, separate from Kaysville.

"We do not live in Kaysville City, nor

Kaysville precinct, and why it is called the 2nd Ward of Kaysville we cannot

understand," the newspaper report stated.

Just less than 4 months later, the Ward name change did take place.

“The members of second ward of Kaysville last Sunday decided to change the name to Layton Ward so as to conform

with the precinct and post office and hereafter it will be known by that name.” (-Davis County Clipper, Aug. 31, 1892.)

Before Layton had fully gained its independence from Kaysville, or had become an incorporated community, its identity was obscure.

“There are some people in the large surrounding cities that do not know there is a place as Layton, formerly known as Kays Creek, in Utah,” a story in the January 23, 1892 Ogden Standard newspaper reported.

“They do not know what a fine country we have here for agriculture and stock raising. The town is situated about fifteen miles south of Ogden, with seven hundred inhabitants, also three mercantile stores, a post office, two blacksmith shops, one meat market, a large steam roller mill, a saloon and two railroads running through the center,” the story stated.

The first public Halloween event in Utah was not held until 1885; Pranks, not candy ruled Halloween in the 1930s

               Household Halloween decorations are common today in Utah.

THE first media mention of an October Halloween observance in Utah was probably in the Salt Lake Herald newspaper on Nov. 1, 1877.
"Last evening was Halloween," the story stated, "And among many from the old countries was held in remembrance by indulging in the innocent fireside pastimes so common on the occasion in Britain. Snatch apple, dutch apple, and little amusements that brought back memories of childhood's days were enjoyed by numbers throughout Utah and elsewhere."
-The next mention of Halloween was not until 1885, when the Oct. 30 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune advertised a Halloween party sponsored by the ladies of the Congregational Church of Salt Lake. The notice stressed that this was the first public "Halloween Party" ever given in Utah. Admission was 25 cents a person for the Oct. 31 event, with food, music and fortunes told. "The church  is in need of money," the notice also stated.
Previously, there had been small social gatherings held in Salt Lake homes on Halloween night. For example, the first mention of those was a year prior, in 1884, as the S.L. Herald stated on Nov. 1 of that year.

-JUMP AHEAD more than 50 years to 1939 and Halloween night in Layton, Utah featured little about candy and was mostly about criminal mischief and pranks.

“Halloween pranks, vandalism annoy County citizens” was a  headline in the Davis County Clipper newspaper on  Nov. 3, 1939.

Waxing windows was a very common prank, along with the theft of automobile parts and dumping sugar beets.

In Layton, the porch of one home was badly scorched when youth tossed a signal torch upon it. The homeowner fortunately put out the fire before it set the structure ablaze.

One of the retail stores in Layton posted watchmen on the night of Oct. 31 in front of its large windows to prevent vandals from waxing them. However, “Halloweeners” on horseback used lassos to incapacitate the guards while other juveniles waxed all the store windows.

-In Syracuse, sugar beets in a rail car bound for the Layton processing plant were dumped on the spur line by a group of boys – despite weighing tons. Sheriff’s officers apprehended the juveniles.

-In Centerville, some homes were plastered with fruit and vegetables thrown by pranksters.

“Halloween is a time for pure fun,” the newspaper reported. “But when citizens everywhere have to be on guard to protect their homes and places of business … then it is time for parents and all citizens to unite and educate the youth of today upon the rights of everyone and that these costly depredations must stop.”

                 "Trunk or Treats" events became common in the early 21st Century in Utah, as an                                  alternative to going door-to-door in neighborhoods for candy and treats.

Layton’s ‘Snow Horse’ gallops into view during most spring seasons

By Lynn Arave

ALMOST every spring, a white shape seemingly trots into view of the Layton area along the Wasatch Mountain side.

The “Snow Horse” is a pioneer landmark and has been noticed in the area most years around the end of May/early June for more than 165 years.

A pioneer legend states that if any part of the snow horse is still visible by the Fourth of July, there'll be plenty of water in the valley throughout the summer. Another variation of that legend is that tender crops should not be planted until the snow horse is clearly spotted, because it's a sign there will be no more frost.

A copy of the photograph of the snow horse that hangs inside Layton City's municipal offices, at 437 North Wasatch Drive.

A more modern variation is that some parents don’t let their children wear shorts, or play in outside water each year until the Snow Horse has been spotted, a confirmation that warm weather has arrived.

The “Snow Horse is located at about 8,500 feet above sea level on the appropriately named Snow Horse Ridge, just east of the Layton-Kaysville border.  Deep ravines along the mountainside, where snow accumulates and remains longer than the surrounding area is what creates the unusual shape. Most years the horse’s legs became thinner and thinner as the snow melts.

                   There was a headless snow horse in the spring of 2013.

This Snow Horse was a “no show” in 2021, 2015 and 2007, because of the meager snowfall then. It arrived the third week of April in 2026, as there was such sparse snowfall -- and it had never been seen that early before. 

Some believe they can also spot a smaller colt-like shape following the horse. Others claim it is a bat-like figure that sometimes appears too.

Layton City Hall contains a photograph of a typical Snow Horse. Snow Horse Elementary School in Kaysville is named after this seasonal landmark, though it is ironically not visible that far south at the school itself.

-There are also other so-called mountain shapes sometimes reputed to be sometimes spotted in the North Davis-Weber County area. Some profess to see a 7 shape on the north face of the mouth of Farmington Canyon.  A banjo shape can sometimes be spotted in the spring from the Hooper-Clinton area around the mouth of Weber Canyon. Also, some claim to see a Scotsman's smiling face on Ben Lomond Peak, north of Ogden, each spring.

-A prime location for viewing the “Snow Horse” is around Layton High School, or near Gentile Street in Layton. However, if you know where to look, the figure can even be spotted from as far north and west as Hooper.

-To best see the “Snow Horse,” count two major peaks going north (left) from the Francis Peak radar towers. Then, on that second peak, look down a long slope and there's where the Snow Horse resides.

(-Written by Lynn Arave and originally published in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.)

From a residence to a funeral home to restaurants and shops

       The Little Taste of Britain restaurant and other shops on Layton's Main Street in 2016.


EVOLUTION is the name of the game for most businesses.

What exists on one site today, may not have been the case decades, or even just a few years ago. Many locations sport a colorful history of occupants.
One site on Layton, Utah's Main Street is a prime example of this.
Located at 1095 North Main Street, the Little Taste of Britain restaurant anchors some other adjacent businesses in "The Cottage at Layton" strip mall, west of Shopko.
El Mate, an international market, Soda Crazy, a soft drink outlet, Jarochos Mexican Food and even an income tax preparation office are all located in the small strip mall. The basement property is currently looking for a tenant.

Let's trace the evolution of this property:
In the early 1950s, the north end of this business property was the home of Ray and Mary Dawson. 
"The Dawson home was a real show place in its time," according to Bill Sanders, director of the Layton Heritage Museum.
(These Dawsons were the parents of Davis High Coach John Dawson, a legendary prep sports mentor, who passed away in 2010.)
Ray Dawson died in about 1960, while mowing the large lawn that surrounded his home at 1095 North Main.
Shortly thereafter, his widow sold the property to the Layton Union Mortuary.
This Union Mortuary was an extension of the Bountiful Union Mortuary, 295 North Main, in Bountiful That mortuary began as an offshoot of Union Furniture Company in about 1933 under the leadership of Merrill Holbrook. It was first called Union Mortuary in 1934 in a Davis County Clipper newspaper article of Aug. 10 that year.
The Davis Clipper of June 9, 1937 reported that George W. Graham, an undertaker, was moving back to Layton, his former home. That was the year when Graham started a funeral home in Layton, located perhaps on South Main Street. This was a branch of Bountiful's Union Mortuary.
"New Mortuary Open" was a March 31, 1961 headline in the Davis County Clipper. This article mentioned a public open house on April 1-2 for the Union Mortuary, now at 1095 North Main Street., on three acres of ground in an 11,000-plus-square-foot building. The facility boasted six viewing rooms, a chapel, a four-car garage and an apartment.
Layton Union Mortuary operated from 1961 to 1972. Bodies were prepared for burial in the basement. There was also a furnace for cremations.
Gerald Thomson and his family lived in the apartment section of the funeral home for some years, until they built their own residence about a block to the west.
Merrill Holbrook, president of Union Mortuary, died on Jan. 14, 1972. Soon after, the Bountiful location was sold to Russon Brothers and became their funeral home, the first one outside of Salt Lake County, for that company.
The Layton Union Mortuary soon closed.
(Eventually Layton attracted two other mortuaries -- Lindquist's and Myers -- on the east side of town.)
Some years later, perhaps the late 1970s, Carlos Produce leased the former funeral home building and operated for more than a decade there, selling fruit and vegetables. A lot of their produce was stored in the basement.
The property was eventually converted into a strip mall with various suites. Little Taste of Britain opened there in 2008, but many other small businesses came and went before that, and after that time. For example, there was a private club/restaurant, the Empress Club, located there for some years too, long before Little Taste of Britain came along.

Layton: A bustling city built on two “Hills”

                     Hill Air Force Base, as seen from southeast Layton.

By Lynn Arave

MODERN Layton City is a community that has truly been built on two “Hills” – Hill Air Force Base and the Layton Hills Mall --  to become Davis County’s largest town, as well as a regional shopping hub.

-First there was “Hill Field.”

According to the “History of Hill Air Force Base,” by the Ogden Air logistics History Office, there was an intense competition in the 1930s between Salt Lake and Ogden for location of the new “Army Air Force Base” (precursor to the United States Air Force).

Northern Utah, as an air base in the Intermountain area, had been rated a suitable location for an air mail terminal back in 1934, during the U.S. Army’s failed Air Mail experiment.

However, in the end, it was geography, not lobbying that tilted in favor of the Ogden area. Weber Canyon, “the largest hole in the Wasatch Front,” was a very attractive natural asset. The winds kept the canyon’s mouth and area mostly free of fog and early airplane pilots had followed the canyon as a landmark, that also boasted high visibility.

The former “Sand ridge,” a plateau north of Layton City, was selected as the best location for an air base.

The U.S. Congress approved $8 million in July of 1939 to establish the Ogden Air Depot. Six months later, in December, the War Department selected the name “Hill Field,” in honor of the late Major Ployer Hill, who had perished in an experimental aircraft accident in 1935.

An official groundbreaking was held on Jan. 12, 1940 and the facility was built and expanded from there.

Surprisingly, the main gate to Hill, the “South Gate” (also ironically on a high hill/plateau in the area) emptied into Layton, not Ogden.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, many additional aircraft were transferred to Hill from the west coast, for additional protection.

It was the presence of Hill Air Force Base that weaned Layton from an agricultural base into a more urban setting. Layton’s population soared by 435 percent, from 646 in 1940, to 3,457 in 1950, mainly because of Hill.

New housing also boomed in Layton because of Hill. The Layton Trailer Park, with 300 units opened in 1942; Sahara Village, with 400 units came by 1944; Hillcrest Village, on the west corner of today’s South Gate, opened in 1942 and could house 2,500 residents.

Layton also experienced a business boom in 1946, following World War II, with its expanded population.

By 1947, the Army Air Corps became the U.S. Air Force and Hill was renamed Hill Air Force Base.

While Hill’s workforce was some 22,000 in 1943, it was reduced to just over 3,000 in 1946, following World War II’s end. Yet, new contracts, responsibilities and the Korean War increased employment steadily after that.

Hill had 11,864 military and civilian personnel in 1954; by 1966 the total was 18,436 and by 1986 it was 21,775, all as Utah’s largest single employer – all on the doorstep of Layton City.

According to the latest Hill AFB economic impact statement, there are now 23,969 total personnel within Hill Air Force Base, including 8,606 military and dependents and 12,363 civilians. Hill AFB has an annual federal payroll of $1.23 billion and annual expenditures of $907 million. Annually, Hill AFB creates approximately $1.19 billion in jobs created with a total of $3.32 billion in total annual economic impact.

-The Layton Hills Mall is Layton’s other significant “hill.”

“Work set to begin on Layton Hills Mall” was an Aug. 4, 1978 headline in the Davis County Clipper.

The Mall was then described as a mammoth indoor shopping center with some surrounding businesses, conveniently next to I-15. It opened after more than two years of construction.

Some of the land eventually developed into the Layton Hills Mall used to be the old 20-acre Layton Trailer Park.

The Layton Hills Mall opened in the spring of 1980 and was renovated in 1996.

Today it has more than 100 stores, with three anchor tenants and more than 576,000-square-feet of retail floor space.

The Layton Hills Mall, though not on an actual “hill,” has over the decades attracted many more businesses to Layton. “Restaurant Row,” Layton’s famed cluster of eateries, grew out of the Mall’s success. Layton had only two “sit down” restaurants in 1983,” but thanks to the Mall it boasts dozens and dozens today.

In addition to the Mall, Smith’s Food and Drug constructed its regional offices, plus dough/dairy plants and a distribution warehouse in Layton in the late 1970s in Layton.

-Additional reference source: http://www.hill.af.mil

(-Originally published in the Layton City newsletter.)

Recalling the Layton, Utah flood of 1984

    Minor flood damage at the mouth of Adams Canyon is reminiscent of the significant damage northward,  on  Valley View Drive in the spring of 1984.

By Lynn Arave

IN the spring of 1984, Layton City residents along Valley View Drive (east of Highway 89) suffered a disastrous mudslide that destroyed one home and damaged several others. The water, mud and debris caused more than $250,000 in damages (almost $600,000 in today’s dollar value), displaced seven families, prompted the temporary evacuation of almost 150 more and put mud 10 feet deep on Valley View Drive.

This all happened during the record flood years for Northern Utah – 1983-1984 – when there was heavy snowfall and a wet/cool spring. When it finally did warm up in mid-May, there was too much melting snow in the Wasatch Mountains.

It was May 17, 1984, 6:15 a.m. and Layton resident Tom Jacques fortunately spotted the mudflow coming down the mountainside, adding more rocks, mud, trees and brush as it moved, according to the Davis County Clipper on May 23, 1984.

Unlike area floods in the 1930s, this one didn’t come down the middle fork of Kays Creek. It came down what was known as “Lightning Canyon,” or “No Name Canyon.” This mud flow was 60 feet wide and five feet deep.

Jacques became a modern Paul Revere, of sorts, and yelled “Get out! Get out! It’s a mudslide” as loud as he could to all of his neighbors. Luckily no one was hurt.

Neighbors were the first to arrive with shovels, drinks, food and encouraging words. Next came members of the neighborhood emergency preparedness team under the direction of Bill Jaques. Many volunteers were from the local LDS Ward. The third group to help was organized through Layton City and Davis County emergency preparedness efforts. Some 500 people worked for three days to clean up the area.

Walt “Waldo” Miller, an affected Layton resident, later reflected on the lesson the mudslide taught:

“There’s not a trace of bitterness with any of our neighbors,” he told Doneta Gatherum of the Clipper. “We’ve all learned the big lesson. It’s our families and neighbors that count, not material possessions.”

The CBS news show, “On the Road,” with Charles Kuralt, spent five days filming in Layton after the disaster.

“Water’s gone: Cleanup’s not” was an Aug. 8, 1984 headline in the Davis County Clipper that outlined the long term repair and preventative efforts.

Secondary water was cut off to the area for most of the summer. Besides the damage to homes, considerable landscaping needed to be redone.

A flood channel and debris basin were later added to hopefully prevent a similar disaster in the future.

Sadly, there was no federal relief money available to those families affected and no homeowner insurance covered mudslide damage either. A special citizen committee organized a trust fund to help those needing the most financial assistance.

-Later, there were landslides in 1998 on Sunset Drive and again in 2001 on Heather Drive within Layton City’s boundaries, further highlighting a vulnerability to nature and a need to always be as prepared as possible.

(Sources: Davis County Clipper, Ogden Standard-Examiner. Originally published in the Layton City newsletter.)

1915: When David O. McKay’s stolen car ended up in Layton

                       David O. McKay in the 1960s as president of the LDS Church.

"JOY riders ditch an auto for horse and buggy” was a May 5, 1915 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.

An automobile belonging to David O. McKay, 38, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was reported stolen in Ogden the day prior.

The auto was found in Layton, near the train depot.

It was believed that the same thieves who stole Elder McKay’s car and took a joy ride, abandoned it in Layton. The thieves then stole a horse and buggy belonging to a night watchman at the depot, so they could return to Ogden.

(-From the Layton, Utah web site.)