The town of Leamington on the northern border of Millard County is situated in a small but fertile valley of the winding Sevier River. It is surrounded on the north, east, and south by the Wasatch range.

In 1871, a number of people from Oak City visited the present site of Leamington. Unlike other Utah settlements, these people were not sent to Leamington by Church authorities. However, Bishop Platt Lyman of Oak City did send John Lovell to Leamington to act as the presiding elder. The first permanent settlers in Leamington built their home in 1873.

Leamington was named after a town in England by Frank Young, a nephew of Brigham Young who was one of the early settlers in Leamington.

Leamington is located on the south side of the Sevier River. The settlement extends about five miles up and down the river, the upper end being the mouth of Leamington Canyon. The river flows west, coming from the northeast. The town center is where the schoolhouse stand and is about three miles below the mouth of the canyon. Leamington is 30 miles northeast of Oasis, 25 miles southwest of Juab, 46 miles from the county seat Fillmore, 12 miles north of Oak City, and 131 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

The early settlers came to farm and ranch of their own accord. In the autumn of 1871, the group from Oak City built a small dam across the river near the present day Leamington, which, unfortunately, washed away the following day. In 1872, a second dam was constructed based on a survey done by Thomas Morgan. This dam was a little more successful than the first and made possible the settlement of Leamington by Thomas Morgan and those who helped build the dam.

The second dam was not without problems, though. It broke each year causing great frustration to the settlers. At last, an existing ditch was extended further up the river to a point where the river could be tapped without the assistance of a dam.

The first Leamington settlers found the riverbanks a mass of willows and brush. Grass covered the hills so thick and tall that flood waters could not wash holes or gullies in the ground.

Among the first settlers were Joe Weach, Thomas Morgan, Ole Jensen, John Radford, Richard Ross, Mell Ross, Niels Mortensen, Lars Nielson, Harry Millet, Christian Overson, John Dutson, Charles and John P. Johnson, Thomas and John Talbot, and Frank Young. All of these people settled in Leamington prior to 1880.

The following came shortly after 1880: Alexander Graham, James Latimer, Joe Saunders, and John McCombie.

Within a few years after the first settlement, the community numbered 100. Richard Pay started a store and a saloon. George Morrison and Christian Overson both started stores. Overson also ran the post office and was the station agent. Charlie Johnson installed a store in his home.

The railroad came through the valley in 1879. At this time the population had increased to about 150. In 1888, twenty teams left the town and went to Idaho. The farms of those who left were largely purchased by other farmers who came to Leamington and took their place.

Elder Andrew Jensen, in 1893, visited Leamington in the interest of church history, and wrote; "The settlement composes only about twenty families, of which nineteen (or 151 souls) belong to the church."

The first house was made of logs. Harry Millet built a house of cedar posts. Log houses were built by Nels Mortenson and his son-in-law Nels Petersen. Frank Young built two log houses facing each other. Robert Hillhouse built a two-room log house. An old picket house was built on the banks of the river by Thomas Morgan. Joe Weach had a cedar house built. Lars Nielson moved his first house from Oak City. Silas Smith moved his house in from Oak City also. The home was built of quaking aspen logs and was later plastered over.

The village is a "string town." One principal street runs east and west through the town, following parallel with the railroad tracks.

Works Cited
Bird, Joan Nielson. Histories and Stories of Leamington and Fool Creek Flat. Salt Lake City: DMT Publishing, 2000.