Decades before Hill Field, Layton used to have a 'Hill Street'

                                                            Hill Field Road in 2016.

"HILL Field (Hill Air Force Base) came along in 1940.That meant that "Easy Street" was renamed Hill Field Road and today's U-193 was created and was at times also referred to as Hill Field Road.
However, back in 1913, Layton City had a 'Hill Street' on the west side of town.
According to the Weekly Reflex newspaper of Kaysville-Bountiful of May 15 that year, Orson Layton wanted to construct "a ditch along the north side of Gentile Street from the West Layton meetinghouse, westward to what is commonly known as Hill street."
No other information is available and likely the street was renamed something else over the decades.
-According to the Weekly Reflex newspaper of Feb. 2, 1926, "East Layton becomes town" was the headline.  Located northeast of Layton City, East Layton developed its own water system from Kays Creek.
East Layton became the 11th town or city in Davis County at the time. Bountiful, Farmington and Kaysville were "cities," while the 6 towns besides East Layton were: Layton, Woods Cross, Centerville, Syracuse, Sunset, Clearfield and West Point.
(Clinton, South Weber, West Bountiful and North Salt Lake had not yet been born.)

Where is 'West Layton?' -- And -- Highlights for the City's west side

                                       Open land just west of the "Rail Trail."


WHERE exactly is "West Layton?"
While there is no definitive answer, the three most popular responses are that West Layton is either west of I-15; or it is west of Main Street; or it is west of the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
West Layton is a unique portion of Layton City. It has the most undeveloped land left; is lower in elevation than the rest of the City; and offers the best landscaping views of the Wasatch Mountains.
  Back in the early 20th Century, before Layton was incorporated, references were made to "West Layton" and to "East Layton." Approximately, anything east of Fairfield Road was East Layton and everything west then was West Layton. East Layton eventually incorporated as its own town.

                       The Union Pacific and Frontrunner Tracks on Layton's west side.

-Here are some highlights in a timeline form in the history of Layton's west side:

1881: The Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company is organized, bringing water to hundreds of farms, many on the City's far western side.

                                The Layton Sugar Factory.

1915: Layton Sugar Company factory is built on the west side of town and operations begin.

1937-1957: Laytona incorporated and then annexed back into Layton.

1959: Layton Sugar Factory closes.
1972: The Sugar Factory is demolished. Only its old warehouse remains.

                          The demolition of the old Sugar Factory.

1980s: Land is set aside for an industrial park in west Layton. 
1985: Smith’s Food Production and Distribution Center, 500 N. Sugar Street.

                            Smith's (Kroger) Food Production Plant.

1985: The last train runs along the Denver and Rio Grande railroad line in west Layton and between Salt Lake and Ogden. The tracks are dormant for several decades.

1990: Smith’s Ice Cream Plant,  500 N. Sugar Street, is added.

1992: West Hill Field Road expands to the Industrial Park.

                               Swan Lakes Golf Course.

1993: Swan Lakes Golf Course opens in west Layton. (It closed in 2019, to be replaced by homes.)

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 in west Layton.

2001: The warehouse of the old Sugar Factory is torn down and an industrial park begins development on the old factory site.
2008: Train whistles stop in Layton, excluding emergencies, with new crossing signals in place.

          West Layton's popular "Rail Trail."


2011:3.1 miles of the D&RGW trail completed in West Layton, creating a trail system that traverses all of Davis County, north to south.

2018: Layton Intermountain Hospital is operational.

                               Intermountain Hospital.

2018: Midtown Crossing over I-15 opens and offers less congested access from east Layton to west Layton.

                          The sign is cut for the opening of Midtown Crossing bridge.

2019: Swan Lakes Golf Course closes and a residential development begins on its 44 acres.

The closed gate and a yard sale sign at the end of the 2019 golf season at Swan Lakes Golf Course.

The scoop on West Layton's first park

                        The LDS Church Park in West Layton.


MORE than 30 years before Ellison Park came along in West Layton, there was a large park located behind the LDS
Chapel near the northeast corner of 2200 West Gentile Street.
Not a Layton City Park, like Ellison, this park began as more of a combined Church and community project on land
owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the late 1950s, the area’s LDS Elder’s Quorum
established a pheasant hunting unit in that section of West Layton. Lewis G. Shields, Jack Stevenson, Wayne Bone
and L. Jay Flint were some of the leaders of this project.
Hunters of any religious affiliation purchased permits and the
money collected for well over a decade went into a special fund.
“The money generated was used to develop the recreation area
behind the new (LDS) Chapel,” a local history book, “West
Layton/Layton 2nd Wards 1895-1995” states.
A bowery for the park came along in the summer of 1966. By
1968, there was a grassy area and restrooms added. Then a ball
diamond was created and even lights for the baseball field.
Over the years, playground equipment and other park amenities
were also added there. A historical marker is also on the site.
The LDS Chapel there was built from 1969-1970 and was
originally the Layton Second Ward and Layton Tenth Ward Chapel.
Today this park is well kept and well used. Group use is scheduled
through local LDS Wards, but any area residents can visit there. The park is a good example of recreational development outside of
The LDS Church Park in West Layton. government.