Editing American Fork, Utah (section)

==History==
[[File:Old Bank of American Fork Utah.jpeg|thumb|left|The former Bank of American Fork on Main Street]]
[[File:Alpine Stake Tabernacle.jpeg|thumb|left|[[Alpine Stake Tabernacle]] in American Fork]]
The area around [[Utah Lake]] was used as a seasonal [[hunting]] and [[fishing]] ground by the Ute Indians. American Fork was settled in 1850 by Mormon pioneers and incorporated as Lake City in 1852. The first settlers were Arza Adams,<ref name="suplibrary.org">[http://suplibrary.org/stories/detail.asp?id=325 Arza Adams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614031114/http://www.suplibrary.org/stories/detail.asp?id=325 |date=June 14, 2010 }} at SUP Pioneer Stories</ref> followed by Stephen Chipman (grandfather of [[Stephen L. Chipman]], a prominent citizen around the start of the 20th Century), Ira Eldredge, John Eldredge and their families.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://historytogo.utah.gov/places/americanfork.html |title=Betty G. Spencer. "American Fork" in ''Utah History Encyclopedia'' |access-date=April 27, 2009 |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115121837/http://historytogo.utah.gov/places/americanfork.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The first settlers of American Fork lived in scattered conditions along the [[American Fork (river)|American Fork River]]. By the 1850s, the tension between the settlers and Native Americans was increasing. In 1853, [[Daniel H. Wells]], the head of the [[Nauvoo Legion]] (the Utah Territorial Militia at the time), instructed settlers to move into specific forts. At a meeting on July 23, 1853, at the schoolhouse in American Fork, [[Lorenzo Snow]] and [[Parley P. Pratt]] convinced the settlers to follow Wells' directions and all move together into a central fort. A fort was built of {{convert|37|acre|m2}} to which the settlers located. Only parts of the wall were built to eight feet high, and none were built to the original plan of twelve feet high.<ref name="historytogo.utah.gov">{{Cite web |url=http://historytogo.utah.gov/places/americanfork.html |title=Spencer. ''Utah History Encyclopedia'' |access-date=April 27, 2009 |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115121837/http://historytogo.utah.gov/places/americanfork.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Settlers changed the name from Lake City to American Fork in 1860. It was renamed after the American Fork river, which runs through the city, to avoid confusion with [[Salt Lake City]], about 30 miles to the north. Most residents were farmers and merchants during American Fork's early history. By the 1860s, American Fork had established a [[public education|public school]], making it the first community in the territory of Utah to offer public education to its citizens.<ref>[http://www.jacobsonfamily.com/index/thomas_barlow_forbes Biography of Joseph B. Forbes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608212527/http://www.jacobsonfamily.com/index/thomas_barlow_forbes |date=June 8, 2008 }}, Jacobson Family, Retrieved May 15, 2008</ref> In the 1870s, American Fork served as a rail access point for mining activities in [[American Fork Canyon]]. American Fork had "a literal social feud" with the town of [[Lehi, Utah|Lehi]] due to the [[Utah Sugar Company]] choosing Lehi as the factory building site in 1890 instead of American Fork.<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Fred G.|title=A Saga of Sugar|year=1944|pages=76–77|oclc=1041958}}</ref> There were several mercantile businesses in American Fork, such as the American Fork Co-operative Association and Chipman Mercantile. For several decades in the 1900s, raising chickens (and eggs) was an important industry in the city. In 1892, [[Joseph Forbes (educator)|Joseph Forbes]] organized the schools in American Fork, and the Forbes school is named after him.<ref name=citizen>{{cite news |title=New Forbes School Recalls Life of Educator |url=https://basic.newspapers.com/clip/22548752/american_fork_citizen/ |work=American Fork Citizen |date=30 June 1949 |page=1}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], the town population expanded when the [[Geneva Steel|Columbia Steel]] plant was built. An annual summer celebration in the city is still called "Steel Days" in honor of the economic importance of the mill, which closed in November 2001.<ref>[[Geneva Steel]]</ref> The steel mill was located approximately six miles (10&nbsp;km) southeast of town, on land on the east shore of Utah Lake.

American Fork built a city hospital in 1937. A new facility was built in 1950 and sold to [[Intermountain Healthcare]] in 1977, replacing that hospital with a new facility in 1980.<ref name="historytogo.utah.gov" />

The 1992 film ''[[The Sandlot]]'' was mostly filmed on the [[Wasatch Front]]. The carnival scene was filmed in American Fork on State Street by Robinson Park.<ref name="Internet Movie Database">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108037/locations Internet Movie Database]</ref>

Several scenes from the 1984 movie ''[[Footloose (1984 film)|Footloose]]'' were also filmed in American Fork, including the opening scene inside the church, the front porch scene with [[Kevin Bacon]] and his family, and the gas station scene in which Bacon refuels his Volkswagen.<ref name="Internet Movie Database"/>