A commercial district was established at the intersection of Main and Factory streets and flourished after the construction of the Utah Sugar Company factory in 1903. By 1907 there were fifty-seven different businesses in Garland. The Utah Sugar Company purchased large tracts of land and gained control of the canal system. The land was sold to farmers under long-term credit arrangements, with special encouragement given to sugar-beet growers. The company also pushed the construction of the Oregon Short Line, which was completed to Garland on 16 June 1903 and connected Garland with the main Union Pacific line at Corinne. The company also constructed houses along and near Factory Street for its employees. The sugar factory and production of sugar beets remained the primary economic activity in Garland until the factory was closed after the 1978 harvest. In 1990 the population of Garland stood at 1,637 people with most of the adults either retired or employed at Thiokol or the nearby La-Z-Boy chair factory.

Duane Archibald