Davis High School has been a part of our community
for a very long time, with this year marking one hundred and
ten years, opening in 1914. Many students’ parents,
grandparents, and maybe even great grandparents attended
Davis High as a student, making it a beloved generational
school. We really know how to keep the traditions high and
strong.
Kaysville is the geographic center of the county, which
inspired Davis High to be just about two hundred yards away
from the exact center. When it first started out, it was the only
high school in the district, thence making it even more special to the community. Kids throughout the
entire county from North Salt Lake to Sunset and South Weber attended Davis High until populations
grew and grew, sparking more and more high schools all throughout the county and Utah. First starting
out, the school was named Davis County Central High School, made from brick and stone in a small, two-
story building, built by the architect, William Robert Allen. There were two classroom levels plus an attic
and a basement. The opening year had an extremely low student body with a graduating class of just
thirty students. And in 1911, the school district only held around two thousand students total, but quickly
grew into sixty-seven thousand students in 2011. Davis county has been growing ever since it was born.
The student life at Davis High did not start out all sunshine and rainbows, in fact, all four classes
didn’t come together until October 26th, 1914. Before that, the Juniors and Seniors were sent to Bountiful
for their classwork, while Freshmen and Sophomores started their schooling at Kaysville City Hall. When
the school was officially finished, the students recall doing their schoolwork while the workmen would
busy themselves clearing away the debris on the new grounds. Yet, after a few years of adjusting to the
new excitement, Davis High became our golden high school. In 1915, the first year of Debate had started
with four young men participating, but during 1917-1919, there were no Debate Teams due to the war and
the flu. However, the D-Club was founded in 1917 which held the purpose of creating loyalty toward the
school, to honor the athletics and spirit of the school and unite the members of the club in a fraternal
bond. 1918 held the first big social event, the Junior Prom. It was a prom decorated with a beautifully
strung latticed canopy of purple and white and magnificent luring strains of real jazz music throughout the
halls.
The original Davis County Central High School building didn’t last forever; in 2004, after ninety
years, they tore the initial school down. With the intentions of creating a bigger, brighter, and better future
to carry on the adored traditions of Davis High. You are still able to see the earliest versions of the
building in the front entrance and the entirety of the auditorium, with some modifications. Sadly, we were
not able to keep our traditional “D” from the very start of the first building, but fortunately kept the
mosaic “D” placed outside the old office from the Class of ’53, where it now sits by the new
administration office today.
Knowing the history of our Dear ol’ Davis High School, makes me treasure our school lore even
more. We are rich with tradition, honor, and pride; the mob is a place that brings friends together while
for a very long time, with this year marking one hundred and
ten years, opening in 1914. Many students’ parents,
grandparents, and maybe even great grandparents attended
Davis High as a student, making it a beloved generational
school. We really know how to keep the traditions high and
strong.
Kaysville is the geographic center of the county, which
inspired Davis High to be just about two hundred yards away
from the exact center. When it first started out, it was the only
high school in the district, thence making it even more special to the community. Kids throughout the
entire county from North Salt Lake to Sunset and South Weber attended Davis High until populations
grew and grew, sparking more and more high schools all throughout the county and Utah. First starting
out, the school was named Davis County Central High School, made from brick and stone in a small, two-
story building, built by the architect, William Robert Allen. There were two classroom levels plus an attic
and a basement. The opening year had an extremely low student body with a graduating class of just
thirty students. And in 1911, the school district only held around two thousand students total, but quickly
grew into sixty-seven thousand students in 2011. Davis county has been growing ever since it was born.
The student life at Davis High did not start out all sunshine and rainbows, in fact, all four classes
didn’t come together until October 26th, 1914. Before that, the Juniors and Seniors were sent to Bountiful
for their classwork, while Freshmen and Sophomores started their schooling at Kaysville City Hall. When
the school was officially finished, the students recall doing their schoolwork while the workmen would
busy themselves clearing away the debris on the new grounds. Yet, after a few years of adjusting to the
new excitement, Davis High became our golden high school. In 1915, the first year of Debate had started
with four young men participating, but during 1917-1919, there were no Debate Teams due to the war and
the flu. However, the D-Club was founded in 1917 which held the purpose of creating loyalty toward the
school, to honor the athletics and spirit of the school and unite the members of the club in a fraternal
bond. 1918 held the first big social event, the Junior Prom. It was a prom decorated with a beautifully
strung latticed canopy of purple and white and magnificent luring strains of real jazz music throughout the
halls.
The original Davis County Central High School building didn’t last forever; in 2004, after ninety
years, they tore the initial school down. With the intentions of creating a bigger, brighter, and better future
to carry on the adored traditions of Davis High. You are still able to see the earliest versions of the
building in the front entrance and the entirety of the auditorium, with some modifications. Sadly, we were
not able to keep our traditional “D” from the very start of the first building, but fortunately kept the
mosaic “D” placed outside the old office from the Class of ’53, where it now sits by the new
administration office today.
Knowing the history of our Dear ol’ Davis High School, makes me treasure our school lore even
more. We are rich with tradition, honor, and pride; the mob is a place that brings friends together while
defending our mark. It’s easy to come to school and get bored of the routine, or the common feeling most
seniors, including myself, known as senioritis. Everyday is the same, with the same windowless halls, the
half-broken laptops, the loud buzz throughout the school, and the cold dark early mornings. Nonetheless,
it’s three years we will never get back and never forget.
I can’t deny the agony of waking up and crawling out of my warm blankets to sit in an
uncomfortable metal chair all day, but it doesn’t beat the feeling of laughing my head off with my best
friends, ditching class to get a sweet treat, asking the “no such thing as stupid questions”, and so much
more. My brain cannot comprehend high school ending in barely three months, I keep imagining the
different classes I’m going to take next year, and then remember there is no next year.
It’s frustrating how magnificent Davis is, since it offers so many different classes and activities a
student can take. We are known not only for our outrageous academics but also for our incredible
athletics. Being one of the top schools in the nation is cool but puts you under immense pressure. And of
course, Davis High knows how to succeed, trying our best is something that comes easy.
“In 2014, after one hundred years as a school, we build our future by honoring our past. One
thing that will never change is the pride that alumni take in this great institution and all that it stands for
because it has helped shape the lives of thousands of former Darts.” (Dee L. Burton, Class of 1964, 2014.)
Davis High School is a place students come together to not only learn and grow, but to evolve and shape
the future into something marvelous and indescribable. We are the future of Kaysville, of this country, of
the world, and Davis is where we learn how to better that future.
So, I know high school isn’t the place you crave, but Davis High School will always be the place
that welcomes you. Our history is long and thick, but learning it makes you appreciate it more. Defending
the tradition is what we know best at Dear ol’ Davis High School, and it is what we will proceed to do till
the end.
https://www.ksl.com/article/29814938/4-famous-davis-high-alumni-from-the-last-100-years
https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/8/19816452/book-to-document-davis-high-history
https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/8/19816452/book-to-document-davis-high-history
https://schooldesigns.com/Projects/davis-high-school-reconstruction/
(And yearbooks from the library)
half-broken laptops, the loud buzz throughout the school, and the cold dark early mornings. Nonetheless,
it’s three years we will never get back and never forget.
I can’t deny the agony of waking up and crawling out of my warm blankets to sit in an
uncomfortable metal chair all day, but it doesn’t beat the feeling of laughing my head off with my best
friends, ditching class to get a sweet treat, asking the “no such thing as stupid questions”, and so much
more. My brain cannot comprehend high school ending in barely three months, I keep imagining the
different classes I’m going to take next year, and then remember there is no next year.
It’s frustrating how magnificent Davis is, since it offers so many different classes and activities a
student can take. We are known not only for our outrageous academics but also for our incredible
athletics. Being one of the top schools in the nation is cool but puts you under immense pressure. And of
course, Davis High knows how to succeed, trying our best is something that comes easy.
“In 2014, after one hundred years as a school, we build our future by honoring our past. One
thing that will never change is the pride that alumni take in this great institution and all that it stands for
because it has helped shape the lives of thousands of former Darts.” (Dee L. Burton, Class of 1964, 2014.)
Davis High School is a place students come together to not only learn and grow, but to evolve and shape
the future into something marvelous and indescribable. We are the future of Kaysville, of this country, of
the world, and Davis is where we learn how to better that future.
So, I know high school isn’t the place you crave, but Davis High School will always be the place
that welcomes you. Our history is long and thick, but learning it makes you appreciate it more. Defending
the tradition is what we know best at Dear ol’ Davis High School, and it is what we will proceed to do till
the end.
https://www.ksl.com/article/29814938/4-famous-davis-high-alumni-from-the-last-100-years
https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/8/19816452/book-to-document-davis-high-history
https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/8/19816452/book-to-document-davis-high-history
https://schooldesigns.com/Projects/davis-high-school-reconstruction/
(And yearbooks from the library)
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