A timeline of Layton’s history

THE following is a chronology of important events in the history of Layton, Utah:

1849:  The first white pioneer, likely Edward Phillips of Salt Lake, settles in what will become Layton.
1850: Brigham Young makes his first visit to Layton.
1858: Christopher Layton, namesake of Layton City, opens a “Prairie House” at 128 South Main to cater to stage coach passengers.
1860: The first public school house in Layton opens.
1869-70:  Utah Central Railroad connects Ogden and Salt Lake City.
1881: The Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company is organized, bringing water to hundreds of farms.
1882: Denver and Rio Grande Railroad extends through the Layton/Kaysville area.
1886: Layton Post Office is established.
1891-1952:  Bamberger Interurban Railway operates between Ogden and Salt Lake City.
1902-1907: Layton de-annexes from Kaysville to become an unincorporated area.
1902: Layton Elementary School opens.
1903: Telephones appear in Layton; The Woods Cross Canning Company factory begins operations.
1905-06: First National Bank of Layton opens; Severe east wind storm destroys many Layton buildings.

1915: Layton Sugar Company factory is built and operations begin.
1920: Layton incorporates as a town.
1929: Layton’s first fire station opens.
1936-1984: East Layton town is incorporated and then annexed back into Layton.
1937-1957: Laytona incorporated and then annexed back into Layton.
1940: Ground is broken for Hill Air Force Base.
1941: Layton’s first subdivisions—Hill Villa, Skyline and Ellison -- are started.
1941-45:  Layton’s pre-World War II population is 646 residents; By the war’s end, it soars to 3,456.
1943: Verdeland Park housing complex is built to support Hill Air Force Base during World War II.
1949: Layton becomes a third class city.
1957: Layton City purchases Verdeland Park property from the Federal Government.
1963: Fort Lane Shopping Center opens; Layton Sugar Factory has its last run.
1964: Verdeland Park is dismantled and Layton Commons Park begins to take its place.
1965:  Layton High School begins its first classes.
1966: I-15 through Layton is completed.
1978: North Davis Hospital opens.
1979: Layton Pioneer Museum dedicated; its name later changed to Heritage Museum of Layton; its doors open in 1980.
1980: The Layton Hills Mall opens.
1981: K-Mart, Layton’s first non-grocery “big box” store, begins business.
1985: Layton surpasses Bountiful in population with 36,000 residents to become Davis County’s largest city.
1986: Surf N’ Swim facility premieres to the public.
1986: The Davis County incinerator starts up in Layton.
1988: Layton Branch of the Davis County Public Library opens.
1989: Layton City builds a new city municipal building and complex.
1991: Layton’s first Wal-Mart opens.

1992: Northridge High School begins classes.
1992: Layton’s second fire station opens, this one on Church Street.
1992: West Hill Field Road expands to the Industrial Park.
1992: Layton’s theme of lighted animals in its holiday lighting display begins.
1995: The Ed Kenley Amphitheater opens.
1996: Layton’s “restaurant row” becomes a regional draw.
1997: West Hill Field Road is extended one mile west to 2200 West.
1998: Layton’s new flagship fire station opens at 2200 West Hill Field Road.
1999: Ellison Park, a major Layton’s sports park, opens.
2003: The first sections of the Kays Creek Trail are opened.
2003: Weber State University Davis Campus opens in Layton.
2004: The Davis Conference Center opens.
2008: Train whistles stop in Layton, excluding emergencies, with new crossing signals in place.
2010: The U.S. Census lists Layton’s population at 67,311.
2010: Layton South Interchange opens.
2010: Layton becomes a second class city.
2011: 3.1 miles of the D&RGW trail completed in Layton, creating a trail system that traverses all of Davis County, north to south.
2012: Layton Parkway completed.

2012: The Andy Adams Community Fishery begins.
2013: Smart 911 program implemented.
2013: Weber State University expands.
2013: Public Safety Fire Training Facility opens.
2013: Heritage Park phase one completed.
2013: Ellison Park Splash Pad opens.
2013: Oakridge two-million gallon water tank completed.
2013: Layton “Lightspeed” Wi Fi is available in City parks.
2014: Antelope Drive is finally extended east to U.S. 89.
2018: Midtown Crossing over I-15 opens.
2018: Layton Intermountain Hospital is operational.
2019: Layton's first woman mayor is elected.

2019: I-15 expansion of express lanes begins.
2020: Highway 89 expansion starts.
2020: Coronavirus leads to resident isolation and less social contact.

Tiny old store on West Gentile Street used to connect Layton to quieter times

     What's left of "Bessie's" or "Staley's" today, center white building, on West Gentile Street.

THE watering hole and gathering place for west Layton was "Bessie's" or "Staley's" for more than 60 years, until the early 2000s.

Having started in 1939 at 1378 West Gentile Street, this little convenience store was likely the oldest and smallest continuously operated store in Layton and maybe in all of Davis County for its time. All other such "Mom and Pop" stores in Layton had come and gone -- it was the last holdout.

"It's a good watering hole. It has really been good for the community," Dan Layton, 70, a longtime Layton farmer, said of the tiny store back in 1998.

 Layton is one of the store's most loyal customers and has been going there since it opened.

"It's been a great thing. I'd hate to see it ever go broke," he said.

 

When the store opened, Layton's population was just 541 people. By 1998, it was nearing 60,000.

Sitting in the shadow of tremendous commercial development, the tiny store is about 750 square feet in size. Passersby new to the area may not even notice it along the roadside.

Officially titled G-Market in the 1990s, it was just a mile away from Wal-Mart and Layton's retail center.

Bessie and Trulley Staley started their store in the fall of 1939. They had previously operated a hamburger stand on Layton's Main Street, but that didn't work out.

It's uncertain whether the store was built out of an old railroad box car. Layton remembers it being constructed from scratch, but there are reports of its railroad heritage.

In any event, the store became an instant gathering place and a gossip house for farmers in the area.

"You knew what was going on," Layton said, explaining it wasn't malicious rumors the store promoted - just the truth.

"My whole family went up there for candy . . . It was just fun to be there," he said.

All the longtime west Layton families patronized the store - the Laytons, Stevensons, Flints, Adamses, Calls, Robertses, Simmonses, Boneses, etc. The store had several stools where people could sit down and order a hamburger or hot dog.

The Staleys were kind to people and gave groceries to people in need. They also donated bread for the sacrament service in the nearby ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"They were a friend and a broker," Layton said.

Stories say that neighborhood kids had charge accounts for candy at the store.

Mr. Staley died in 1959, and Bessie kept the store going. Some say she never left the store for 25 years - she was always there.

A daughter, Naomi Olson - an Annie Oakley type - helped Bessie keep the store operating for some 30 years. When Bessie passed away in 1989 at age 88, the store was leased to a couple of different owners. Greg Caldwell purchased it in June of 1991.

To Caldwell, having the store is more a hobby than a business.

"I thought it would be cute to have the store … It's a store for nostalgia and the community … I didn't buy the store to make money," he said.

Caldwell grew up in Paris, Idaho, where his father operated a similar country store - Country Cupboard. He finds it soothing to have the store. Although both he and his wife work full time at other jobs - he as an engineer and she as a therapist - they still did the bookkeeping and hired people to operate the store.

Caldwell said the store still offered hamburgers and malts and even retains some penny candy, though not as many kids come in as in former times.

Caldwell estimates 99-plus percent of his customers are regulars.

"We can serve lunch," he said. "It's a loyal crowd."

The store was open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It was closed on Sundays.

 Former Layton Mayor Jerry Stevenson, who lives just a block away, used to frequent the store once in a while. Many descendants of early west Layton families relied on the store.

Layton said many people came in both morning and afternoon, going to and from work, to get "a fix" - a big Coke.

-By the early 2000s, the store had closed for good, a casualty of the more popular convenience stores and also perhaps of some of the most loyal of customers passing away ...

-This story has been updated and was originally published in the Deseret News, by Lynn Arave, on July 27, 1998.