Fishing at Holmes Creek Reservoir.
LIKE all
cities in the western United States, water sources shaped the lives of early
residents.
However, a lack of summer water was the perennial
problem for Layton farmers. Some of the first
dry farming in the nation happened on the north end of Layton City. The Holmes Creek Dam was
first built in 1852 to store water for settlers in the Layton area.
This was also the oldest dam in Utah and one of the first in the western United
States. However, the drought of 1855-1856 was so hard on crops, that Layton
area settlers were forced to eat sego lily plants and wild onions to survive.
Commercial farming was underway by 1900 in Layton,
when alfalfa became a very common crop, plus grains, tomatoes, onions, peas and
sugar beets. Large cattle herds were not common, but a railcar of cattle, about
30, was an average among farmers.
Layton farm workers are shown sharing a drink from a water bucket in a
sugar beet field, probably in west Layton during the 1920s. (Heritage Museum of Layton photograph.)
The only
culinary water source in west Layton during pioneer times was a natural spring,
located about 2700 West
Gentile
Street. People came for miles around to utilize that water. The land north of
west Gentile Street in the 1870s
was known
as being “out on the range.” That’s because until the Davis and Weber Canal
came along in 1884, there
was a
lack of irrigation water there.
The first
known well dug in Layton was in the late 19th Century, a 40-foot-deep well, by
Richard Ware.
According
to the Salt Lake Herald newspaper of January 9, 1910, the ridge between Ogden
and Salt Lake produced wheat – without irrigation – back in the 1860s. The
story stated that Christopher Layton, a Utah pioneer (and namesake of Layton
City) was one of those early dry farmers.
“Dry farming was discovered here” was the headline of the story.
It states that the practice spread to other parts of Utah and the nation.
A description of Layton
pioneer farming: Jack Stevenson, an early settler of what would become West
Layton, wrote down this description of farming the land in the area without
canal water, that didn’t arrive in the
area until 1884:
“There was no water, it
was dry farming. They grew wheat and alfalfa. They had wells. They didn’t use
them for irrigation, just culinary and for small gardens. When they dry farmed,
they’d only farm it every other year and they’d plough it and try and conserve
what moisture they could for the next year. And then they’d only get …
maybe 20 bushels (which) would be a huge drop for some dry farm country per
acre. There wasn’t much profit. It must have been a tough go.”
Coyotes
were reported as so numerous in the mountains east of Layton in 1897 that
ranchers could not leave sheep unattended overnight or they would lose a lamb
or two.
The first
creamery was near Layton Elementary, but later one near the Bamberger line on
East Gentile processed a lot of milk.
The summer
of 1934 was called “The baseball summer,” because of the severe drought that
disrupted farming in Layton. Many farmers played baseball, instead of tending
their dry and desolate fields. All the area reservoirs ran dry in August.
“Turkeys
teem into town to terminate their existence” was a Dec. 13, 1935 headline in
the Davis County Clipper newspaper.
George
Flint of Layton had a flock of some 1,600 turkeys that spent the summer and
fall grazing on the ridge. Flint lived in a small trailer there, tending his
large flock of birds.
One
day in early December of 1935, the Clipper reported that Flint drove 800
turkeys down off the ridge and onto his property in Layton, with assistance of
other herders and dogs. Then, they went back and drove the other 800 turkeys
down into Layton. After arriving in Layton, Flint and
his crew prepared the birds for Christmas season sales.
With two railroad lines in town, Layton ranchers and farmers could
readily ship out produce and livestock.
East Layton was also known for many orchards and apricots,
cherries, apples and peaches were common.
An unidentified, large Layton family poses for a
picture after delivering harvested produce, possibly tomatoes, to the Layton Canning
Company, 80 North Cross Street, around 1906. Layton Canning began business in
1903. Its wooden warehouse (shown here) was blown down in 1906 and replaced
with a brick structure. The company merged with the Wood Cross Canning Company
in 1913. The Company’s Factory was torn down in 1954, but the warehouse
remained and was remodeled as a recreation center for the original St. Rose of
Lima Catholic Church. (Heritage Museum of Layton photograph.)
Layton used to have some large stockyards on the south end of
town, just west of Main Street. Layton was then reported to be one of the most
important cattle shipping points in the state, with 5,000 cattle being fed and
shipped from the Layton stockyards each year.
6,000-gallon
cement water reservoir at 1800 East Gentile Street. Water rates were 50 cents a
month. Thus, some 61
years
after the first person settled in Layton, consistent flows of drinking water
were established.
Early
20th Century residents of Layton were only allowed to water their lawns for 30
minutes a day, or less.
In August
of 1929, the first chlorinated water flowed in Layton City. It cost $1,500 for
the equipment.
By the 1960s and 1970s,
Layton was becoming a bedroom community for Hill AFB and employees who worked
in Salt Lake City. Farmland diminished dramatically.
In 2019,
Layton City has 15 reservoirs that store 22.3 million gallons of water; 5 deep
underground wells and 8 Weber
Basin
Water Connections.
Layton
City’s water system has over 275 miles of pipe; more than 19,000 connections;
and boasts a daily capacity of
33.3 million gallons of
water.
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