Est. 1541: Much of the West, including the land that is Utah, was colonized as part of the Spanish Empire. During this time, the land that now includes the Ogden Nature Center (ONC) was traversed and utilized by Indigenous people, such as the Shoshone and Ute peoples..
1841: Fur-trapper and explorer Miles Goodyear acquired a vast area that includes present-day ONC property as part of a Spanish land grant from Mexico. His acquisition ran from the mouth of Weber Canyon, 16 miles north along the base of Wasatch Mountains, then west to the Great Salt Lake, then south along the lake’s shore to a point opposite Weber Canyon, then east to the mouth of Weber Canyon.
1848: James Brown, a Mormon pioneer, purchased the land.
1872: William Hodson purchased the land and built a home for his wife and future children on the acreage that would become Ogden Nature Center. Delbert Franklin Hodson, Carl Hodson’s father, remodeled the house in 1912, and it largely remains the same structure today.
1940: Nov. 16, the U.S. government took the under condemnation process from the Hodsons, who moved across the street in early 1941. About 50 homes in the area were condemned and torn down in the confiscation, which made way for the Utah General Depot. The only house remaining from these family farms was the Hodson home, which is now the ONC farmhouse. During its time as a military depot, the old Hodson house was the home of the depot’s deputy commander.
1973: A 307-acre portion of the Defense Depot Ogden (DDO) property is disposed of as surplus and divided into several parcels - one of which would eventually become the Greater Ogden Community Nature Center.
1974: The concept of the “Greater Ogden Community Nature Center” was born during a Jan. 13 meeting in the basement of the Elim Lutheran Church, in Ogden. James Dolph, a Weber State history professor, called the meeting. About 15 residents attended.
1975: On May 19, the “Greater Ogden Community Nature Center” articles of incorporation were finally approved, and the nonprofit ONC was officially born.
1976: The very first ONC newsletter was published by Etsuko Matsumura using a typewriter in Dr. James Catlin’s office. It was sent to about 100 residents.
1977: ONC hosted its first summer camps, consisting of three days and an overnight stay. Programming included wildlife exploration and leaned on Mountain Man and pioneer-era skills of making butter and ice cream. One of the first camps had children excavating the farmhouse’s old trash heaps in the Preservation Grove area north of the farmhouse.
1978: The old Hodson home and its surrounding two acres was donated to Ogden City, and eventually became its first visitor center. The Ogden Breakfast Exchange Club built the old treehouse at Picnic Grove.
1982: Eight acres on ONC’s east side swapped for 23 along Mountain Road, which is Ogden Nature Center North. The land was used to build a juvenile detention facility.
1995: The current ONC Visitor Center was completed.
1996: DDO announced plans to give 25 additional acres to ONC north and south of Millcreek adjacent to Picnic Grove.
2004: Avocet Tower and pond are created, and the L.S. Peery Education Building was completed in August that year. The project included a weekend during which volunteers installed the straw bale wall along the building’s north side. ONC also hosted its first “Fly With the Flock” 5K.
2006: The Ramada was added in front of the Education Building.
2008: A solar tracking array is installed on the south side of the Education Building.
2009: The ONC entry was redesigned, and the cattail gate was installed. An outdoor bird weathering area was built between the mews and Moffett Trail.
2010-2011: Solar panels and a wind turbine were installed in the parking lot to power the lights on Birdhouse Trail and in the maintenance shed. The maintenance shed has no other source of power.
2015: ONC turned 40. The new eagle mews were built. Carl Hodson died at age 94.
2016: A 199-panel, grid-tied solar array was installed on the roof of the Education Building. It is designed to generate 100% of ONC’s electricity.
2020: The nature playscape along Habitat Trail was finished.
2022-2023: An outdoor classroom was built behind the Education Building to allow for more teaching time outdoors during school field trips and other programs.
2024: Picnic Grove redesign was unveiled. The project’s Phases I and II have included construction of new bathrooms and a kitchen, new pathways, poles for hanging hammocks during campouts, installation of a large gas-powered fire pit, and rehabilitation and upgrade of the treehouses. Phase III will happen in 2025 and involve paving the parking lot and its trail.
2025: ONC turns 50
