Beginning at the boundary line of Salt Lake and Davis counties and stretching east up the mountainside and west towards the Great Salt Lake sits the city of North Salt Lake. On its northern border the city meets Woods Cross and Bountiful.

In 1847 Brigham Young sent settlers north to find pastureland for cattle and to establish settlements. Among these people were the first homesteaders in North Salt Lake. As they left the Salt Lake area and traveled north, they found several steaming hot springs and ponds. These hot springs are still active on the southern boundary of the city. To the west flowed the Jordan River, and the land was swampy and covered with swamp grass. To the east the land slowly climbed up the tall grass-covered lower mountainsides. This grass sometimes hid a deep crevasse large enough to be of danger to cattle. Small natural springs found their way from the mountains into the grassy valley below. Many of the hillsides were rocky and sandy and not well suited for crops or cattle; however, they did produce several sand and gravel excavations.

The first homes built in the area were crude dugouts, which at least offered protection from the winter storms. Later homes were made of adobe, utilizing the natural clay deposits in the area. One of the first settlers of North Salt Lake, John Winegar, built his home of clay from deposits by the Jordan River. Because of the clay deposits, several brickyards were located in the area for a short time.