A brief history of schools in Layton

This was the 5 Points one room school, located at the intersection of Main Street, Fort Lane and Rosewood Lane. Mr. A.B. Cook was one of the school’s first teachers. Every day he walked from South Weber to the school. The school closed in 1902 when Layton Elementary School opened on West Gentile Street.  (Heritage Museum of Layton photograph.)

LAYTON had eight or more one-room school houses scattered about town in the late 19^th Century.

Ann “Mum” Gilbert, a widow who immigrated from England may have been the first school teacher in Layton. She taught in 1860 in a one-room log building owned by the Adams family. This school was in east Layton in Dawson Hollow.

The first official school in Layton opened in about 1870. It was a one-room brick structure, less than a mile away from the Adams school building.

At about the same time, another one-room school opened near where today’s Main Street, Rosewood Lane and Fort Lane all intersect.

The first west Layton school came along in 1892 on Gentile Street, about 400 yards west of the Rio Grande Railroad Station.

However, there was still a lack of teachers and supplies, plus inadequate buildings and a lack of transportation for students.

Layton Elementary School as it appeared new in the early 20^th Century. The school opened on Oct. 12, 1902, with Joseph A. Sill as principal. The building cost just over $4,000 to construct on West Gentile Street. It was expanded to an 8-room school in 1915. A cafeteria was added in 1950.

(Heritage Museum of Layton photograph.)

On October 12, 1902, Layton Elementary School opened, at 339 West Gentile Street and consolidated all eight of the one-room schools in town. This school also originally included students through grade eight.

This custom-made school bus was driven in 1925 by Robert E. Green of Layton to deliver students from West Layton to Layton Elementary School. (Heritage Museum of Layton photograph.)

A custom-made school bus was driven in 1925 by Robert E. Green of Layton to deliver students from West Layton to Layton Elementary School. Green, who drove school buses for 37 years, began in 1922 by driving a converted sheep wagon as a makeshift school bus. His specially made 1925 bus was constructed in Ogden. Green made $60 a month driving school buses, but had to pay for his own gasoline. He said students sometimes got into fights on the bus. However, he once even caught students playing cards and getting ready to make bets at the rear of the bus.

Davis High in Kaysville opened in 1914 and Layton residents attended there, until Layton High began in 1966.

Layton Elementary School, 369 West Gentile Street, as it appeared in the early 1980s. The school was built in 1902 and expanded over the decades. The current modern Layton Elementary opened in 1984 and replaced the original structure, which was torn down. In the school’s early decades, students walking to class had to tramp through deep mud or dusty roads, unless they got a ride on a wagon or bob sleigh.                                                             (Heritage Museum of Layton photograph.)

The original Layton Elementary School was torn down in 1984 and replaced with a modern building that stands today.

This is an early picture of Central Davis Junior High School, at 663 North Church Street, back when it was known as Layton Junior High School. The school first opened in 1955. 

                                                                                  (Heritage Museum of Layton photograph.)

Central Davis Junior High School in Layton was the City’s first secondary school, but it wasn’t always known by the same name. It was originally titled Layton Junior High School. The school was dedicated on Jan. 24, 1955. (By the time North Layton Junior High School opened in the 1970s, Layton Junior was retitled Central Davis.)

The demise of Verdeland Park opened the door to the development of Layton High School on its former land.

Northridge High School, Layton’s second high school, began in 1992.

As of 2019, Layton has a total of 18 public schools in its boundaries, plus some academies and private schools.

Weber State University opened its Davis County satellite campus at a permanent location in Layton in 2003.