There are historic cabins, a playground, plaques and monuments about local history and more in this park.
Bamberger Electric Railroad
The Bamberger Electric Railroad’s official title in 1891 was the Salt Lake and Ogden Railroad. However, in 1917 after the line was electrified, the name was changed to the Bamberger Electric Railroad. The railroad was built under the leadership of Simon Bamberger, pioneer Utah coal mine operator and railroad entrepreneur. The purpose of the railroad was to connect Ogden to Salt Lake City by rail and to provide more frequent service to the local business traveler. Work on the line started in 1891, but due to financial difficulties, the line didn’t reach Kaysville until May 30, 1906. In addition to making stops at most of the small towns along the line, the Bamberger took Davis County students to and from Davis County Central High School, the only high school in the county at that time. With the popularity of the automobile, travel by train began to lose its appeal. The Bamberger Railroad was operational until September 15, 1952.
Clover Club Potato Chip Factory
In 1938, Newell V. (Hod) and Clover Sanders launched a potato chip business from their apartment at 128 N. Main Street, Kaysville. In order to purchase a delivery truck for their product, Clover sold her treasured piano. Their small savings was used to purchase four sacks of potatoes and the oil to cook them in. Junior Bowman, owner of The Golden Rule Store, now known as Bowman’s Super Store, bought the first order of chips. As the business grew new quarters were needed. The Sanders purchased three buildings on 100 North which served as their factory, warehouse, office and home. Eventually even more space was required so property was purchased here at 200 North & Fairfield Road which is now Heritage Park. This property was the location of the Clover Club Potato Chip Factory from 1948 until 1996.
The Kindness of the Anonymous Donor
Thanks to the generosity of an incredible Kaysville family, their significant donations paid for the construction of this extraordinary splash pad and state of the art playground. Their desire was to bless children with even more opportunities to bring families together in a safe and beautiful gathering place.
Most astonishing of all, they have sought no credit or recognition for their remarkable gifts, but receive immense satisfaction from knowing parents and children are enjoying their contributions.
“No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” – Amelia Earhart
Bowman’s Market Kaysville’s Grocer Since 1913
Evolution of Play
During the 1800’s, children’s pastimes looked a bit different than they do today. Games and toys were not only designed for fun, but also to teach a lesson or a skill. Many of the children’s toys were inspired by the European culture including cup-and-ball toys, rolling hoops, tops, and hobbyhorses. By the end of the century, setting aside space and creating playground equipment became the heart of a movement backed by many women and educators. While playground designs continue to evolve, one thing remains constant— playgrounds have an essential role in the physical development and socialization of children. Today’s children can enjoy the outdoors with innovative European influenced play structures like this playground at Heritage Park.
Kaysville Liberty Tree
In commemoration of the 240th anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence.
Dedicated to those who fought bravely in the American Revolutionary War, our Founding Fathers, and the citizens of this city who have and will continue the fight to defend our liberties.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” – Ronald Reagan
George Pilling Adams Cabin
George Pilling Adams was born in the old Kay’s Ward in 1857 and attended school in what came to be known as Kaysville. George grew up on a farm and became a farmer by trade before his marriage to Ann Eliza Forbes in December of 1876. He built this cozy little cabin for his bride and future family. Logs for the cabin were felled in Adams Canyon to the east of George’s farm. The cabin measured 16 x 18 feet and contained 288 square feet of living space. In this small space, the first of the couple’s ten children were born. Eventually, the cabin was expanded with other additions.
This cabin survived for 139 years at a location just south of Gordon Avenue about a half mile east of Fairfield Road in what is now Layton City. In 2015, the Kaysville Daughters of the Utah Pioneers moved the original cabin to Heritage Park. The cabin will be used by the DUP to keep alive the stories, activities, and facts about the early pioneers.
The Henry H. Blood House was built about 1896. The house is important because of its association with Henry H. Blood, prominent Davis County Businessman and Governor of Utah from 1933 to 1940. The house was designed and built by William Allen. One of Utah’s most prominent architects, Allen designed many Davis County buildings although he was largely self-trained. Architecturally the house remains intact and sound and is an illustrative model of the late nineteenth century architectural tradition.
Henry H. Blood was born October 1, 1872 in Kaysville, Utah. The son of William Blood and Jane Wilkie Hooper, Henry H. Blood worked on his fathers farm and attended school until 1901 when he left to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ Of latter-day Saints in England. After returning home in 1904 he taught one year at the Brigham Young College in Logan then in June 1905 accepted a position of secretary, treasurer and manager of the Kaysville Milling Company.
Henry H. Blood married Minnie A. Barnes June 4, 1896. A native of Kaysville, she was born the day after Henry Blood, October 2, 1872. They had four children, two sons and two daughters. Their house in Kaysville was apparently constructed shortly before or after their marriage in 1896. The lot in which the house is constructed was acquired by Henry Blood’s father, William Blood, in 1890 and sold to Henry in April 1895 for $200.
Architect for the house was William Allen. Born January 1, 1870 in London England, Allen left England in 1862 at the age of 12 and arrived in Utah in 1863. He moved to Kaysville where he remained until his death on October 11, 1928. Allen worked as a farmhand then followed the trade of his father as a brick mason. He studied architecture and drafting by correspondence; and became Davis County’s most prominent architect. In addition to the Henry H. Blood house, he designed the Kaysville Presbyterian Church, (1888) Davis County Courthouse (1889-90), Barnes Brick Building (1910), Kaysville Tabernacle (1912), Kaysville Elementary School (1918) and homes for John R. Barnes, John G.M. Barnes, Hyurum Stewart, James Smith, John Barton and his own home. Davis County, with its emphasis on agriculture was not a highly prosperous area of the state and the Henry H. Blood home, along with the John G.M. Barnes home is one of the largest and most elaborate homes in Kaysville.
Henry Blood did not aspire to the Governorship until fellow Democrats urged him to seek the nomination in the best interest of the party. Entering the race three weeks before the State Democratic Convention, Blood succeeded in overtaking Clarence Neslen, former State Legislator and Salt Lake City Mayor, and won the nomination 463 votes to Neslen’s 337.
The election of Henry H. Blood and other Democratic candidates for State and National offices in Utah was the result of the strong appeal of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In Utah Roosevelt received 116,750 votes while Blood’s total was 116,031. Blood’s Republican opponent, William W. Seegmiller received 85,913 votes. In 1936 Blood won re-election with 109,656 votes compared with 80,118 votes for Ray E. Dillman a Republican and 24,754 for Herman W. Perry and Independent candidate. Despite the efforts of many, Blood declined to run for a third term in 1940.
As Governor Henry Blood adopted a conservative fiscal philosophy along with a whole hearted acceptance of the New Deal Programs. While drastically cutting state expenditures, except for welfare for which he secured the passage of a 2% sales tax, Blood actively sought Federal funds for Relief Projects. He recognized that the depression was caused by under-consumption rather than over production and since the state could not inflate currency by fiscal or monetary policies as the Federal Government could he saw his role as an executor of Federal Relief projects. Thus he made many trips to Washington in the interests of Utah Relief Projects. Blood found strong resistance to proposed Reclamation Projects, nevertheless, he and other Utah officials were persistent in behalf of the State’s interests. Harold Ickes, director of the Public Water Administration wrote,
“A delegation from Utah, headed by Secretary Dern, and including Governor Blood, came in to nag again about some Reclamation Projects for this state. This group has been hanging about Washington for more than three weeks. At intervals they came to see me, then they go to see Colonel Waite (Ickes second-in-command) and then they go over to the White House. They seem to be proceeding on the theory that they can just wear down our resistance and get what they want.“
To New Deal Administrators Utah’s request for funds for reclamation projects, which would serve to increase Utah’s agricultural capabilities, seemed incongruous with the New Deal Agricultural program to resist production. Nevertheless, Blood’s efforts were successful and several important reclamation projects including the Deer Creek and Moon Lake projects were undertaken.
While seeking every possible Federal dollar for his state, Blood emphasized that his efforts depended, in large measure, on a strong relief commitment from the State. He strongly advocated the 2% sales tax for welfare relief at the same time he drastically reduced state expenditures with a program of economy, retrenchment and curtailment of services. By the end of his second term, he had reduced the states net $3,655,000.
With 33,000 Utah families on relief in 1933 economics was the prime career of Blood during hte 1930s. However other issues were also important during Blood’s administration.
The repeal of the 18th Amendment was a difficult issue for Blood. As a loyal member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he was opposed to the consumption of alcohol and supportive of prohibition. Nevertheless, it was apparent that Utah’s citizens favored repeal and on November 6, 1933 Blood telegraphed President Roosevelt that Utah had become the 36th state to ratify the Twenty-first amendment.
Another issue was the attempt by the National Miners Union to secure control of Utah’s Coal fields. In open conflict with the United Mine Workers of America, the National Miners Union were pro-communist and advocated what others felt were extreme measures to meet the needs of Utah’s coal miners. When a strike broke out, Blood, well aware of the potential financial cost to the state, refused to call out the National Guard as his predecessors had done in similar labor difficulties and insisted that local officials handle the situation.
Henry Blood was also the first Governor to occupy the Thomas Kearns Mansion the present official Governor’s Residence.
In reflecting on Blood’s career as Governor, his biographer wrote: “It must said, the Blood was not a ‘popular ‘ governor. The people’s reaction to him was not one of great emotionalism. He was admired and respected but not loved, and he had no sizable personal following among the electorate. One astute political observer doubted that Blood could have been elected governor on his own, that is, if there had been no depression a factor beneficial to virtually all Democratic candidates.“
“Carried into office by the tide of history or not, Blood was the governor and an outstanding one during these crucial years…he was outstanding in his capacity for work; his total immersion in the day-in, day-out grind of overseeing state government attests to this. Secondly, he was outstanding in that if there was any possibility of receiving aid from Washington or of increasing the flow of monies he spared no effort. Though some might feel that his assiduous pursuit of the federal dollar somehow represents a compromise with his own financial conservativeness, this writer does not. One may practice frugality and humanitarian ism at one and the same time without conflict. As long as people were suffering, and as long as their suffering might be relieved somewhat by the soothing balm of federal aid his willingness, even eagerness, to initiate or to enhance the stream of cash into Utah is considered human and wise. If he had spurned aid from the federal government which unlike the state can “create” funds by the stroke of a pen he would have been derelict in his duty as governor and as a human being. On the other hand, Blood has nothing to do with the creation of the New Deal, and his statements and actions during the period prior to the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt make clear that he had no intentions of foreshadowing the president’s program on a state level. Blood was no innovator or original thinker in the area of social and economic equality. As has been stated before, he was merely the expediter of federal programs within his state, but he did that well and willingly. He accepted the necessity of those parts of the New Deal which provided work, money, and goods for the jobless and destitute.“
In 1941 Henry Blood was called by IDS Church leaders to serve as President of the California Mission. On June 19, 1942 he died in a Salt Lake City Hospital of a cerebral hemorrhage and pneumonia. In October 1942 Mrs. Blood deeded the home to her daughter Evelyn B. Sims. In 1947 ownership of the home passed from the Blood family to Bimden and Ila Cottrell. In October 1961 the Cottrells sold the home to LeGrande Evans. In 1963 Evans sold the house to Donna H. MsCowen and in June 1971 Mr. MsCowan sold the house to the present owners Dennis and Genene Hill. The house is well maintained and continues to function as a residence.
Henry Blood’s home in Kaysville is a two story structure in the Queen Anne style. It was designed by William Allen, a largely self-trained architect/brick mason who worked extensively in Davis County. Allen’s influence may be seen in other substantial brick and stone homes in Kaysville.
Begun ca 1896 (possibly as early as 1895) the original house was a multiple hipped roof structure, square in general plan. An octagonal corner tower, side bays and hipped dormers vitalized the scheme.
Victorian exterior ornament abounds. Carved segmental window insets, turnings of porch elements and dormer ornament are fanciful Queen Anne characteristics.
In 1915 the home was extensively enlarged with a rear addition. With this addition a new kitchen, pantry and screen porch were added on the ground floor and bedrooms on the second floor. ‘The original kitchen became a dining room. This extension was sympathetic to the original in scale, proportions, materials and detail. The rear dormer dating from this period is a facsimile of the originals. A hipped roof porch off the kitchen entrance has Tuscan supports and a low balustrade.
The interior of the hone retains its original integrity, and reflects the high Victorian style. The 1915 addition was as compatible and well-executed inside as it was outside, though the interior details reflected the Classical Revival style of the period and not the earlier Victorian exuberance.
Door and window surrounds are wide molded elements in the period fashion. Rectangular terminations contain circular molded or floral motifs. Doors have molded panels. Brass door hardware is extant. Sconces and girandoles for electric lights date from an early period, though possibly not original. The Dado of the dining room is Linerusta Walton molded in a low relief pattern.
The parlor fireplace displays Adamesque characteristics in the proportions of the flanking capitols and the applied swags. Elegantly carved, the oak balustrade of the stairway exhibits the eclectic tendencies of Victorian interior design.
Constructed in 1922 for notable Utah painter LeConte Stewart, this 1 1/2-story cottage was designed in the English Tudor Revival style by prominent Utah architects Harold Burton and Hyrum Pope. The house and the remainder of the buildings on the property, including the art studio, maintain their architectural integrity.
LeConte Stewart played a major role in the evolution of regional landscape painting in Utah and made major contributions to art education in the Salt Lake valley, Davis County, and Ogden. By the time the Stewart family moved into the house in January of 1923, he was already well-established as an artist. He lived in this house – the only home he ever owned – from 1923 until his death in 1990. As the place where LeConte Stewart created most of his work, the home and studio represent his art and the landscape that gave him his greatest inspiration.
The John George Moroni Barnes house was constructed c. 1884, with an 1896 addition, this brick home is an excellent example of Victorian design. Designed by William Allen, it stands as a monument to its original owner, John George Moroni Barnes. Born March 5, 1860, in Kaysville, Barnes became one of the town’s leading businessmen and helped in founding Kaysville’s first bank.
Located at 42 West Center Street in Kaysville, Utah
The John George Moroni Barnes House is significant because of its association with John G. M. Barnes, who succeeded his father, John R. Barnes, as the dominant business and political figure in Kaysville. It is also significant as an outstanding example of a Victorian mansion built in two sections and at least partially architect-designed. Because the integrity of both the older and the newer sections of the house have been maintained, one can discern the subtle changes that occurred during the construction of monumental houses within a ten to fifteen year period of the Nineteenth Century. William Alien, an architect known to have designed a number of important buildings in Davis County, including the Kaysville Presbyterian Church (1888), the Kaysville Tabernacle (1912), the Barnes Bank Building (1910), and the houses of Henry H. Blood, John R. Barnes, and Hyrum Stewart, is reported to have designed this house. The front and more recent section of the house has details that appear in other houses by Alien and seems to indicate that he had a hand in this one. Particularly unique to this design is the rounded bellcast roof tower with its unique gable roof dormer and the treatment of the second story door. The house was built in two sections for John George Moroni Barnes. The first section was constructed in the early 1880s, the second ca. 1896.
Barnes was born in Kaysville, March 5, 1860 to John R. and Emily Shelton Barnes. An early settler of Kaysville, his father became one of the town’s prominent citizens and by the early Twentieth Century owned the town’s leading store, its bank, its cannery, its mill, and operated one of the largest farms in Davis County. John G. M. Barnes left school at the age of fourteen to work in his father’s general store. Eventually he became its president and, through his involvement in other enterprises, succeeded his father as the town’s leading businessman. He was involved with his father in founding Kaysville’s first bank, he organized the Kaysville Irrigation Co. and was a pioneer in dry farming in Davis County. In this connection, he founded the Utah Fruit Juice Co., which, he said, was dedicated to proving that concord grapes and cherries could be grown on a commercial scale without the use of Irrigation. He was involved with his father in founding the Kaysville Canning Co. in 1902 and the Kaysville Milling Co. in 1904, and he established the Kaysville Brick and Tile Co., and the Kaysville Canning Corporation. He was vice-president and a director of the Davis and Weber County Canal Co., President of the Utah Canner’s Association, and a director of the National Canner’s Association.
Active in politics as a Democratic, and as a Populists in the 1890s, when that third party was a viable force both in Utah and the nation, he was elected Kaysville City Treasurer in 1882, served on the City Council from 1892 to 1896, was Mayor from 1898 to 1902 and again from 1922 to 1928, served in the Utah State Senate from 1901 to 1903, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1900 and 1924.
Following Battles’ death in 1932, the house remained in the Barnes family until the early 1970’s, when the present owners bought it.
The home was listed on the National Historic Register (#82004120) on February 11, 1982.
The Original portion of the Barnes-Gibson Home was constructed of adobe in 1851 by John R. Barnes. In 1867-1869 he built the two story brick structure and it was purchased in 1941 by Mr. & Mrs. James R. Gibson.
The John R. Barnes House is located at 10 South 100 West in Kaysville, Utah and was added to the National Historic Register (#82004121) on July 23, 1982.
This house is significant because of its association with John R. Barnes, the dominant economic figure in Kaysville during the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries, and because it represents several distinct stages of architectural design in Utah. Originally built ca. 1869 as a small adobe structure, the house was extensively remodeled in the mid-1870s using a folk/vernacular plan, and in the early 1890s it received a Victorian addition that dramatically changed its character. Epitomizing the height of fashion in two distinct buildings styles, the house reflects John R. Barnes’ attempt to maintain a residence fully consistent with his economic status and social position in Kaysville.
Barnes was born in England, July 28, 1833 and emigrated to Utah as a convert to the Mormon Church in 1853. He settled in the newly established community of Kaysville, twenty five miles north of Salt Lake City, and for the next ten years, farmed and taught school. In 1863 he opened the first general merchandise store in Kaysville. The business flourished and became the foundation for other business ventures, and he operated it for the rest of his life. He also remained in farming throughout his life, becoming one of the largest landowners in Davis County. In 1891 he established the Barnes Banking Co. in Kaysville, in 1902 the Kaysville Canning Co., in 1905 the Kaysville Milling Co., and in 1907 the Davis County Canning Co. Thus, by the early twentieth Century, he was the dominant force in Kaysville’s economic life, owning the towns’ leading store, its bank, its cannery, its mill, and running one of the largest farming operations in the county.
Barnes was also active in political affairs. He was a member of the Kaysville City Council from 1868 until 1882, mayor from 1916 to 1918, a member of Utah’s Constitutional Convention in 1895, and a member of the first Utah State Legislature as senator from Davis County. Also active in Mormon Church affairs, he served in the bishopric of the Kaysville Ward for thirty years, from 1877 until 1907.
Barnes was a polygamist and married three wives, Emily Shelton in 1853, Elizabeth Geeves in 1865, and Emily Stewart in 1869. According to his son and biographer, “He was gradually becoming a man of affairs, indeed so much that he felt he was able to follow the practice of the one principle of the Gospel he had embraced that was enjoined as essential to the highest glory in the Celestial kingdom of God, plurality of wives.” Barnes built this house for his third wife, Emily Stewart, following his marriage to her in 1869. At the time, he was living with his first two wives and their children in a house about one block south of this one. Barnes evidently divided his time between the two houses. In 1875 his first wife died. It is not clear whether her five children remained with the second wife in the house in which they had been raised, or whether they moved in with the third wife, who now had three children of her own. In 1887 Barnes was convicted of “unlawful cohabitation” under the Edmunds Act of 1882, fined $300 and sentenced to three months in prison. To avoid further prosecution following his release from prison, he decided to legally marry and live with one of his two wives. With the consent of Elizabeth, his second wife, he married Emily Stewart, and lived with her and their children in this house. If they had not done so earlier, the children from his marriage with his first wife now moved into this house.
The architect of the second section of the house was William Allen, a largely self-trained architect/brick mason who worked extensively in Davis County. His influence may be seen in other substantial brick and stone houses in Kaysville. Born January 1870 in London, England, he emigrated to Utah as a Mormon convert in 1863 and settled in Kaysville. He worked first as a farmhand and then followed his father’s trade as a brick mason. After studying architecture and drafting by correspondence, he became Davis County’s most prominent architect. In addition to this house, he designed the Kaysville Presbyterian Church (1888), the Davis County Courthouse (1889-1890) , the Barnes Bank Building (1910), the Kaysville Tabernacle (1912), the Kaysville Elementary School (1918), and homes for Henry H. Bloc4, governor of Utah from 1932 to 1940, John G. M. Barnes, Hyrum Stewart, James Smith, John Barton and his own house.
The Kay’s Ward Meetinghouse served residents of north Davis County for nearly 90 years as a center of religious and social life. Early pioneers gathered here to learn from Prophets, Apostles, and other lecturers, while plays, concerts, dances, and dinners helped satisfy their social needs.
Organized in 1851, the original Kay’s Ward stretched from the Weber River on the north to Haight’s Creek on the south, and from the mountains on the east to the Great Salt Lake on the west. As the local population grew, residents soon realized they needed a building where they could gather. Thus, in 1855 work on a 45′ x 80′ structure began here on the corner of what was then Locust and 5th Streets. A chapel occupied the main floor and some of the additional rooms in the basement doubled as school classrooms. Following an unfortunate delay of several years caused by the Utah War, Apostle John Taylor dedicated the building on September 26, 1863.
As construction on a new tabernacle across the street began in 1911, the old meetinghouse was remolded on both structure and purpose. A two-story addition on the front provided a balcony and rooms for costumes and scenery; a stage and dressing rooms were added on the back. All religious services moved to the tabernacle, and the meetinghouse became known as the Music Hall/Opera House and promoted a wide variety of church, civic, and cultural events. It was one of the few Utah venues in which the national Vaudeville circuit performed. A Relief Society birthday celebration each March drew hundreds of faithful members.
In 1951, the building that had served as both a facilitator for and a symbol of spiritual and cultural growth for hundreds of pioneer families was demolished after a recreation hall was added to the tabernacle.
This is D.U.P. Marker #578 (see others here) located at 202 West Center Street in Kaysville, Utah.
