WEST BOUNTIFUL—With an incorporation date of 1949, many might think that there isn’t much to the story of West Bountiful: is it just that Bountiful grew too large, and had to split? Like many pieces of local history, there’s much more to it than that. The story of West Bountiful actually goes back to 1848, just one year after the pioneers arrived.

As the story goes, James Fackrell, Sr., settler and recent convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, asked a group of Native Americans where he should settle, and where he could find “good land.” He was told there was a place to the northwest with plenty of creeks, and fertile soil, and so, taking his family with him, he went to what is now West Bountiful.

Fackrell was soon joined by other big names in Utah history, including John Pack, whose Salt Lake home would house the first classes of the University of Deseret, or currently, the University of Utah. For the first few years, many cabins sprung up, and early homes were improved as the area blossomed with cultivation.

In the modern era, West Bountiful and its residents have done an outstanding job in maintaining the historic architecture that sprouted up in the late 19th, and early 20th centuries. Visitors today can still see beautiful old Victorian-era mansions dotting the city, looking very much like they did when they were first built.

Though the settlement of West Bountiful occurred just one year after the vanguard companies of pioneers arrived, it wasn’t until 1949 that the area became its own city. Now, West Bountiful is very much a city that can stand on its own two feet, contributing commerce and comfort to the lives of Davis County residents who live there.