East Layton Elementary School and Adams Reservoir are landmarks lying inside the former city limits, which encompassed a total area just under 2 square miles (5.2 km2).

Lifelong resident David Green envisioned a municipal water system supplied from Crooked Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains to the east.

In January 1936, 53 East Layton residents signed a petition to form a town in order to fund the water system.

[2][3] In 1937, East Layton voters unanimously supported a bond measure, and the WPA approved the town's loan application.

They laid collection pipes from the mouth of Crooked Canyon down to a reservoir on Valley View Drive at the eastern edge of town.

The state of Utah provided additional support, matching funds for contributions by East Layton families.

[2] Despite continual residential growth, East Layton never had a commercial tax base to speak of; there were almost no businesses in town.

Land developments in the 1970s brought explosive growth, as the city became an important residential community for nearby Hill Air Force Base.