A man reveals himself through his words, his value system, his consistency of action and the inner needs from which they spring. I have discovered a Daniel Wood somewhat different from that depicted in these stories. Let me share that Daniel with you.

Daniel Wood was the wealthiest man in Woods Cross. IN 1855, he consecrated to the Mormon Church, land, houses and personal possessions worth $13,884.00 - a large estate by any reckoning. And he was quite precise in setting down, on paper, allotments of property. When he and Grace Ann were divorced, an elaborate agreement detailed her settlement. When he turned the operation of his farm over to his son, Joseph C. Wood, the same careful detail is present and recorded with the county recorder.

Daniel knew farmland - the land on the East bench, where he first settled, was too gravelly for farming. He searched until he found just the right piece - generations of silt deposits from the overflowing of North Mill Creek, which runs along the south boundary of that land, left a soil so rich that farmers still call it the most productive 100 acres in all Davis County. Here he established his home.

Daniel was a responsible citizen of the community. He built and maintained, at his own expense, a school (1854) for the education of his own children and those who lived nearby and a church (1836) with a seating capacity of 125 to accommodate their religious needs He believed that his own immortality was closely tied to the family he created and nurtured. Through them, he hoped "to perpetuate my name through endless ages, that I might never be forgotten." With clock-like regularity, Daniel conducted family meetings every week. His wives and children, even those who lived in their own homes, gathered together in the church or in his home to worship, counsel, entertain and to chare experience. Each item on the program was preceded by a musical interlude from the Woo String Ensemble. And each meeting was punctuated by Daniel's sage comments. When he was away from home, the meetings continued with the same regularity under the direction of other family members. Detailed minutes of these meetings, also attended by his neighbors and their families, are chronicled in his journals.

Was Daniel cross when the railroad decided to locate the loading platform on his rich land? Did Brigham Young send him on a mission to prevent and "backtalk"? Daniel knew the value of his land. And he did go on a mission in October 1869 with a group of missionaries called from the North Kanyon Ward. My findings who, however, that Daniel welcomed the arrival of the railroad. He encouraged the location of the platform on his land. And he immortalized his name for generations to come with the selection of Woods Crossing as the name for this important railroad stop. The facts are these:

Brigham Young met 100 leading citizens of the county at the borders of Daniels' land, as reported in the Deseret News, 16 June 1869. Dan strongly urged that the line not interfere with his land on the east. Then he and his neighbors unanimously chose the NW corner of his property as the site for the depot and Daniel offered the land to the railroad for nothing!

He sent a glowing invitation to his brother, Nathan, to come to the west: "…this is a very healthy country. WE have stages running through out county daily. And also a telegraph line. We can hear from Washington in a very few minutes and from other parts of the world. We expect that the railroad cars will travel through here in a short time."

On his return form Canada in March 1870, Daniel carefully measured the distances and arrival times in his journals as they left Omaha on the train and passed through each community and whistle stop to Utah. Savor his description:

"We changed cars at Ogden City. We resumed out journey from Ogden at 5 minutes past 7 o clock. We arrived at Farmington 7 minutes to 8 o clock. We arrived in Centerville 25 minutes to 9. We arrived at Woods Cross 20 minutes to 9 o clock. WE landed right on our farm. 20 minutes to 9 o clock, we landed right on our own farm."

Four days later, by request, his son Peter C. Wood, sand The Railroad Song to an overflow crowd of family and community gathered to welcome Daniel home.

By sheer weight of numbers and by sheer size of acreage, Daniel Wood was overshadowed by the Hatch family, who at one time occupied every home on both sides of 500 South from the freeway to Redwood Road and on both sides of 800 West from 1100 South north past Phillips Petroleum. Woods Cross - Daniel perpetuated his name for the generations to come - a coup very much in character for a community-spirited man.