KAYSVILLE — Davis High School was built here in 1914 because Kaysville is the geographic center of the county, equidistant to outlying farms from which many students would come.
In fact, a Deseret News report in 1963 says the school is exactly 40 rods or 220 yards from the exact center of the county. A cross, called Kays Cross, once stood nearby to mark the center of the county, but it has been gone for many years.
In its 90 years of existence, the school has seen a lot of change, and now an English teacher is documenting its history in a book to be published in the fall.
The book, titled "Taking the Tradition Along," is the brainchild of teacher and yearbook adviser Jeanne Hopper, who has taken upon herself the project with help from others in the community, including the Layton Heritage Museum.
"So many people in this county are interested in Davis High because at one time it was the only high school in the county," she said. The school, originally called Davis County Central High School, was a brick and stone two-story building. Today, some of the original building still stands, surrounded by additions. The original entrance is still visible. Much of the structure added in recent decades has been demolished in the past year.
"Before 1914, there were 19 separate school districts in the county," Hopper said. Each district, usually bounded by city or town limits, had its own elementary school and some had high schools, although not all did.
"Kaysville had Kaysville Academy and Kaysville High School, which met in an old building that was a granary and had a jail in the basement," Hopper said.
With no operating capital, Hopper is preselling the book in order to print it. The memory book costs $40 if ordered before May 1 and $50 thereafter. "It will be a nice book with a hard cover and high-quality paper," she said, adding the cover will be brown with gold lettering in the same style as the first DHS yearbook in 1915.
"The book will have many color and black and white pictures," Hopper said. "We'll try to cover the whole time period with the building as the focus of the book and tell stories of some of those who graduated from Davis High."
The school has had a close history with the surrounding community, she said. "For instance, Bowman's Market, founded in 1913, has always hired Davis High kids to work after school."
For ordering information, contact Hopper at 645-2397 or write to Old School Alumni Committee, 325 S. Main, Kaysville, UT 84037. There is a link on the school's Web site also for information, although the project is not sponsored by the school.
E-mail: lweist@desnews.com