The Heritage Museum is one of Layton City's gems, preserving history

                        The Heritage Museum of Layton

THE Heritage Museum of Layton was dedicated back on July 4, 1979 and is one of Layton City’s gems.

Bill Sanders, director of the museum, said the museum actually opened to the public about a year later, once displays were completed.

“We are the luckiest museum in the state,” Sanders said. “Because of our ideal location, we are the envy of every other city in Utah.”

The museum, officially at 403 North Wasatch Drive – inside Commons Park and across the street from Layton High School, also includes some 7,200-square feet of space.

It also sits atop another relic, since it is located on the former site of Verdeland Park, a large federal housing unit that changed Layton City forever during World War II.

Kent Day, an “Indiana Jones” type was the museum’s original curator. He served from 1980 to 1996. Alan Hansen then took over for two years, until 1998.

                                                                   Bill Sanders.

Then, Sanders became the third museum curator  for more than 22 years. He retired in the summer of 2020 and was replaced by Annie Bommer.

The bulk of the Museum's collection dates from the turn of the century to when Layton was principally a rural, agricultural community.

Back in 1972 a group of concerned citizens decided to build a Layton museum. They formed a museum non-profit 501c3 corporation, to raise money for a museum building, selected an ideal museum location, gathered artifacts, built a museum building with private donations; and then once the museum building was completed and paid for donated the building and the artifact collection to Layton City as a permanent home for the cultural heritage items of Layton’s history.

The museum’s establishment was suggested by the late Oma E. Wilcox, a well-known civic leader and benefactor. During the 1970s, former Mayor Lewis G. Shields and the City Council promoted it as a project for the nation's Bicentennial. Funds were raised for its construction over several years and were aided by a Utah Bicentennial Commission grant and a loan by the city.

Over time, the museum’s heritage collection has grown to include 2,470 artifact objects; 3,770 historical photographs; and 2,900 archival documents and 299 books. Those numbers rank the museum as one of the largest in state.

                                    Harris Adams
-Harris Adams, a well-known Layton historian, has also aided the museum over the decades. He served on the City’s history board and also helped locate many relics.

-Sanders, a Kaysville native, worked 20 years in public relations for Westinghouse before retiring. He had served on the Layton Museum Board for two years prior to his hiring. He had also volunteered to work at various museums in other states, like Florida, where he had previously lived.

He had also worked as an assistant professor in communications at Weber State University. In fact, he was the very first journalism instructor at Weber State.

-Admission to the museum, 403 North Wasatch Drive, is free. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; and 1-5 p.m. on Saturdays. Closed Sunday, Monday and holidays.