Layton historical tidbits: From bear chase to an Indian skeleton to a dance hall ruckus

               There are many tales of encounters with bears in Layton City's history.

Here are more historical tidbits from the history of Layton, Utah:

-Bear turns on men in chase near Layton” was a Sept. 27, 1920 headline in the Ogden Standard-Examiner. Four men had shot several times at a bear along the foothills of Wasatch Mountains before deciding to run away.

The bear began a hot pursuit and after closing the gap to just 15 feet, one of the men, Henry Jacques of Layton, stopped, turned and fired three times and killed the animal.

The bear was taken to Ogden and put in display at the Grill Market, where it tipped the scales at 240 pounds.

-William Whiteside was leveling a portion of farming in Layton when he unearthed a female Indian skeleton. According to the Salt Lake Tribune of Dec. 5, 1904, Whiteside was surprised to find the remains, since the land had been farmed for at least 50 years. Also, he said the woman apparently stood 6-feet-6 inches tall. The bones were some three feet below the surface.

-Three Layton youth pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace at a dance hall in Riverdale. The three young men started an argument and one was fined $15 and the other two $10 each.

-The Pioneer Day was celebrated in 1914 with two communities united, Kaysville and Layton together at one ballpark. According to Salt Lake Tribune of July 25, 1914, the celebration included a formal program with speakers and music. Then, a lot of sporting events and dancing in the evening.

-Holmes Creek Reservoir on East Gentile Street, almost broke open in May of 1924 with 300 million gallons of raging water. According to the Salt Lake Telegram of May 16, 1924, it was the work of more than 100 volunteers that kept the sand dam from breaking. However, even if it had broken, the Layton business district was safe, as all the water would have poured to the southwest in west Kaysville farmland.