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As pioneer settlers spread out onto the rangelands of Kaysville along the two branches of Kays Creek, those in the north, who made their living dry farming and stock raising, separated from Kaysville to form their own town. It was named Layton, after Christopher Layton. A U.S. post office opened in 1886.
Layton members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attended meeting together. Those families living in the west fields were divided from those in the eastern part in 1895 and became known as the West Layton Ward.
Church meetings for the West Layton congregation were first held in a small brick schoolhouse that had been built in 1892.
Charles A. Layton later donated an acre of property east of this monument where a brick meetinghouses was built in 1897. It was financed exclusively by members and was known as a “Tithing” Ward. The building was dedicated March 31, 1901, by Joseph F. Smith.
The 56′ x 120′ structure was erected on a foundation constructed of rock and plaster. The cathedral-type ceiling had joists about twelve feet long at the apex of the roof. The walls were four bricks thick. Three of the layers were adobe bricks mixed, molded, and sunbaked at the construction site by young men.
Commercially kiln-fired brick covered the adobes. The chapel was divided into nine classrooms by heavy green curtains suspended on steel wire. The steeple had a bell tower, but no bell was ever hung there.
Over the years other rooms were added. The meetinghouse served as the community social center, hosting dances, cultural productions, and other activities until it was torn down in 1971.
Daugters of Utah Pioneers historic marker #539 located at 2120 West Gentile Street in Layton, Utah – Also located here is the Bur Oak Tree.
