History of American Fork

Adapted from Betty G. Spencer,

Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994

American Fork, in northern Utah County, is located fifteen miles northwest of Provo and thirty miles southwest of Salt Lake City. It is bordered by Utah Lake on the south and by the Wasatch Mountains to the east. Adjacent to it to the north lie the communities of Highland, Alpine and Cedar Hills, the nearby city of Pleasant Grove on the east, and Lehi on the west.

In the early days of the nineteenth century, the Rocky Mountain region was a treasure-house for valuable furs, particularly beaver, which were found in large numbers along the mountain streams. Utah Valley was visited by some of the fur trappers and hunters, and Utah Lake and the streams running into it became known to them. The streams running into the lake were known as forks, the principal ones being Timpanogos (Provo), Spanish Fork, and American Fork. While it is difficult to determine exactly how the American Fork got its name, it is likely that it came from the activities of American trappers along its banks. The first settlers on the American Fork Creek took the name of the stream for the settlement.

American Fork was settled by Mormon pioneers in the summer of 1850. Stephen Chipman and his son William Henry, along with Arza Adams and his son Nathan, were en route to Fort Provo to trade when they camped overnight near American Fork Creek. Cottonwood trees along the creek and lush meadows on the lowlands toward Utah Lake convinced them that this would be an excellent place for their cattle and sheep, and after looking around for a while, Nathan Adams said, “I think I would like to live here.”

Chipman, Adams, and Ira and John Eldredge went to Brigham Young and received permission to “go take up land you want.” Heber C. Kimball was present at the meeting and asked them to survey a tract for him adjoining theirs. The first survey was completed by Ira Eldredge under the direction of a Mr. Fox, who was head surveyor in the territory. This was known as the “Big Survey.”

During the late months of 1850 and the spring of 1851, other settlers were attracted to American Fork, including Leonard E. Harrington, who came as Kimball’s agent. He served for twenty-nine years as American Fork`s mayor, bishop, and postmaster.

Matthew Caldwell, a member of the Mormon Battalion, arrived in American Fork in the fall of 1850, having crossed the plains with a company of emigrants. He, his wife, and three children brought with them a herd of cattle. Brigham Young had directed Caldwell and his herders to proceed to American Fork with the livestock. Caldwell is believed to have built the first house in American Fork, cutting the logs near Fort Provo. Other log houses were quickly erected against the coming winter.

At a conference held at American Fork on 18 September 1852, it was decided to lay out a city on American Fork Creek to be called Lake City. It was incorporated by legislative act on 4 June 1853. The community was known as Lake City until 1860 when the city charter was amended and the name was changed back to American Fork in keeping with the wishes of the people and to avoid a confusion of mail with Salt Lake City.

American Fork was also known for a time as McArthursville, taking the name in all probability from Duncan McArthur, who owned a farm between American Fork and Pleasant Grove, and after whom the McArthur irrigation ditch was named.

The first settlers of American Fork located at various points along the creek, and when the townsite was surveyed only a few people moved to the town lots. However, in 1853 General Daniel H. Wells of the Nauvoo Legion gave orders that forts should be built for the protection of the settlers as there had been some trouble with the Native Americans. On 23 July of that year, a meeting was held in the schoolhouse. Parley P. Pratt and Lorenzo Snow were present and urged the townspeople to move together, who then unanimously agreed to take immediate steps for the building of a fort.

Most of the log cabins built on the nearby farms were moved within the confines of the proposed fort, which was eighty rods long and seventy-four rods wide, containing approximately thirty-seven acres. Some parts of the wall were built to a height of eight feet, but no part attained the planned height

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of twelve feet. As the local natives became less aggressive and more peaceable, the necessity for the wall decreased and the work was never pushed to full completion.

The original purpose of settlement was to establish cattle and sheep ranches in the lush meadow lands. As additional newcomers arrived, crops were planted and an agrarian lifestyle was begun. During the three years that the majority of the settlers lived within the walls of the fort, they raised their crops and tended their herds on individual farm or range plots, returning to the safety of the fort each evening.

To facilitate the raising of crops, it was necessary to irrigate the various parcels of ground. The abundant supply of pure drinking and culinary water was a rich asset. The first irrigation ditch in American Fork was made by the Mott brothers—Stephen, Israel, Hyrum, and Squire—in 1851. Lehi (then called Dry Creek), organized at about the same time as American Fork, took up to one-third of the waters of American Fork Creek by authorization of the legislative assembly of the territory of Utah.

One of the first local commercial enterprises was the Arza Adams gristmill; the general mercantile business of Marx and McKenzie came in 1852. Richard Steele opened a small glass and crockery store; this was followed by Alexander Miller, Arza Adams, John Hindley, and William Helley with their own establishments. Grant’s Emporium, as well as Bates’s and Boley’s also offered goods. Major business houses included the American Fork Co-Operative Association, which was sold by shareholders in 1930, and Chipman Mercantile, which closed in 1979 after celebrating its centennial seven years earlier.

The construction of Columbia Steel Company (later United States Steel and still later Geneva Steel) in Utah County in 1942–43 and the influx of many easterners assigned to key positions at the plant brought a local residential building boom, the greatest to that time in the community. The population of the community increased to 4,500, necessitating a vigorous public-works program to provide increased utility services. The importance of this industry on the local economy is what inspired the residents to choose the name “Steel Days” for their annual city celebration.

American Fork’s story began with four men on horseback traveling across the meadow, seeing the beauty and possibility, and setting in motion the progress and growth we enjoy today.

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