Utah History for Kids

Area: 630 square miles
Population (2000): 238,994
County Seat: Farmington
Origin of County Name: named after Captain Daniel C. Davis of the Mormon Battalion
Principal Cities/Towns: Layton (58,474) Bountiful (41,301), Clearfield (25,974), Kaysville (20,351), Centerville (14,585)
Economy: defense industry, small manufacturing and distribution, service industries, and agriculture, especially alfalfa, grain, onions and fruit
Points of Interest: Antelope Island, Farmington Canyon, Lagoon and Pioneer Village, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Howard Slough Waterfowl Management Area, Freeport Center, Hill Air Force Base, Bountiful-Davis Art Center, Farmington Rock Chapel

What is the land like?
Davis County is a relatively small county that includes part of the Wasatch Mountains on the east and part of the Great Salt Lake—including Antelope Island—on the west. The lake includes about 365 square miles of Davis County, leaving only 265 square miles of land. These numbers change from year to year, however. When the lake is low, as it is in the early 21st century, it covers much less land area.

The main population centers lie sandwiched between the mountains and lake. Over the years, the mountains have provided water for agriculture and, more recently, for fast growth.

Prehistory
Davis County were likely used by prehistoric populations beginning as early as 11,000 years ago. We know that Fremont groups lived at least part of the year on the shores of the Great Salt Lake or on its islands. A Fremont camp site on Antelope Island is being excavated and analyzed by state archaeologists (with help from volunteers and school kids).

More recently, Shoshones, Utes, and Paiutes all used the land, mostly passing through as they hunted and gathered foods. They considered this area to be neutral ground, meaning that they would not fight over who should control it.

Anglo-Americans
Several white explorers visited the area, including Jedediah S. Smith, in August 1826, and Jim Bridger. Captain John C. Fremont visited Antelope Island in 1845. It is said that he named the island after the herds of antelope he saw.

When the Mormon pioneers came into Utah, they quickly gained control of land that had never been owned before. During their first winter in Utah (1847-48) several pioneers moved livestock into the area to graze. Peregrine Sessions was the first to bring his family into the area, setting up house in what is now Bountiful. By 1850, the year Davis County was created, many farms dotted the south half of the county.

By the 1870s the county was clearly the garden spot of Utah. In addition to producing bounteous harvests and prize-winning livestock, Davis County farmers were bold experimenters. They tried new crops, such as sorghum and alfalfa; new equipment, such as headers and threshers; and new methods, such as dry farming and irrigation management.

Kaysville flour mill, one of many businesses that were tied to farming in Davis County.

The 20th Century
Farming laid the base for prosperity. By 1910 the county had two gristmills, two nurseries, eight irrigation companies, and six canning factories. Five years later it also had a sugar factory. New schoolhouses, churches, stores, and other structures popped up on the landscape. Three railroads served the county's transportation needs.

With World War 11 big changes came to Davis County. Farming slipped behind defense as the most important part of the county’s economy when the U.S. Army built Hill Air Force Base (HAFB) and the Naval Supply Depot in the north part of the county. Lots of people got jobs at these military installations.

When the navy depot closed, businesspeople bought the buildings in 1963 and made them into the Freeport Center, a bustling manufacturing and distribution center. New housing and suburbs developed around Freeport and HAFB. The southern part of the county grew fast, too, as people who worked in Salt Lake City bought new houses in Davis County. All those new people needed stores, restaurants, and other businesses nearby, so the county economy also grew.

Although it is the state's smallest county in land size, Davis is one of the fastest growing in population. The number of residents doubled between 1940 and 1950, doubled again by 1960, doubled again by 1975, and doubled again by 1996. It is presently Utah's third most populous county.

Hill Air Force Base, 1944, now a major Air Force maintenance facility and home of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing and other units, is the leading employer in Utah.