Clearfield was first known as Sand Ridge, where dry farming began in 1869. The first settlers, Richard and Emily Hamblin, built a small dugout with a dirt floor and a thatched roof of sagebrush and dirt in 1877. Drinking water was hauled from Layton until Mr. Hamblin, after several attempts, sunk a well that struck water. With the building of the Davis and Weber County Canal and the completion of East Canyon Dam, water became available and crops could be grown in the sandy soil. The town prospered, and the name Sand Ridge was changed when the community became a school district.