'Kays Creek' -- Layton's first name, besides Kaysville

             An old Kays Creek trail sign, that indirectly pays homage to the City's first name.

THE original name for Layton (besides Kaysville, as Layton was an outgrowth of that City) was "Kays Creek."
"A new post office has been established at Kays' Creek, Davis County, with the name of Layton. All mail to that locality should hereafter be addressed to Layton Post Office." (from the Deseret Evening News of July 27, 1886.)

       A Deseret News notice from Feb. 19, 1853 contains the first mention of "Kays Creek."


-A railroad schedule for the Utah Central in 1884 (Salt Lake Herald, Sept. 28 that year) lists "Kay's Creek" as the stop after "Summit" (Possibly Sunset area of today) and the stop before "Kaysville."

                                 An 1884 train schedule for the Utah Central Railroad.



-Another Deseret News notice of Aug. 7, 1887 was submitted by Bishop Christopher Layton and offered a $200 reward for information leading to the arrest of John Ramsay, who was believed to have stolen and sold a cow "from the range north of Kays Creek."

-Why the "Kays Creek" name?
It was obviously titled for the important stream of water that ran through the area, just north of Kaysville.

                                                    Christopher Layton

-Why didn't the Layton area officially adopt the name of "Kays Creek"?
Likely, this was because it was too similar to the mother Kaysville name to the south. And, Kaysville was named for an early settler, William Kay -- the same name for whom Kays Creek was named. Christopher Layton, an early Layton settler, must have seemed deserving of the same honor.