Time Machine zoom on Kaysville and Kay's Cross

Zoom into Kaysville and Kay's Cross area with this Google Time Machine tour, 1984-2016:

The Kaysville Irrigation Reservoir is the mitt-shaped reservoir in the center of the zoom. The Boynton Road Farm is to the north and east of the reservoir. Kay's Cross is just east-northeast, upstream of the "thumb of the mitt" of the reservoir.

View the zoom animation in larger format on Google's Time Machine website here.

Kaysville area, 2000Location of Boynton Road Farm and Kay's Cross shown

I grew up in the hollow, below the Kaysville Irrigation Reservoir.  As you can see, the size of the reservoir grows and shrinks dramatically over the years, depending on season and rainfall patterns.

We worried quite a bit about what might happen to us if the dam were to fail--even more so after the Teton Dam failure in 1976. Apparently our worries were not in vain--but more on that, and the whole history of the dam and reservoir, later.

Kaysville-Layton topo maps animated, 1955-2016

Before I start in on solving any kind of a mystery, I like to get an overview of the area--the lay of the land, so to speak.

These topographical maps of the Kaysville-Layton area from 1955 to 2016 area a great way to do it--they give an interesting overview of the recent growth and development in this part of the county.

Topographical maps of Kaysville-Layton area, 1955-2016 (animated gif). Location of Kay's Cross is marked by the red X. Click  for full-sized version
Source: USGS Historical Topographical Map Explorer

The Boynton Road Farm really stands out as one of the last remaining undeveloped pieces of ground in this area.

Each individual map in the animation is below. Click any map for a larger version.

1955

1969--the year my family moved to Holmes Creek Hollow. We lived just west of Boynton Road, and just north of Holmes Creek.

1975. A major development in our part of the world was the construction of Fairfield Road. Construction started soon after we moved in, in 1969. Fairfield Road straightened out Boynton Road going across the hollow, filled it in with a pretty massive fill, and continued Boynton Road's northerly segment onwards to Mutton Hollow, Layton, and HAFB. The remainder of Boynton Road, meandering past the Kaysville Irrigation Reservoir and the Boynton Road Farm, remained a narrow and little-used country lane.

1986

1998

2016