Davis County

For those who may be unfamiliar with the County, we offer a brief introduction. Davis County is Utah’s smallest county in land area. It is a narrow strip of land only 223 square miles but is the third-largest county in population. An estimated 248,000 residents live in the County’s fifteen communities. Frequented by Shoshone Indians during historic times, the area was among the first settled by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The lush lake-bottom pastures, fertile soils of the benchlands, and streams flowing out of the high Wasatch Mountains on the east attracted early settlers, who established small farms and close-knit communities. These early settlers established schools, built homes and churches, and created productive farms and shops.

Named after the early pioneer leader, Daniel C. Davis, the County was established as a territory in 1850. The territorial legislature created Davis County in 1852 and designated its County seat at Farmington, midway between boundaries at the Weber River on the north and the mouth of the Jordan River on the south. Westward, the County includes a portion of the Great Salt Lake and its largest island, on which Antelope Island State Park is now located.