Editing American Fork, Utah

{{short description|City in Utah, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = American Fork
| settlement_type                 = [[City (Utah)|City]]
| motto                           = 
| image_skyline                   = American Fork Utah City Hall.jpeg
| imagesize                       = 
| image_caption                   = The old city hall is on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].
| image_flag                      = Flag of American Fork, Utah.svg
| flag_size                       = 125px
| image_map                       = Utah County Utah incorporated and unincorporated areas American Fork highlighted.svg
| mapsize                         = 260px
| map_caption                     = Location in [[Utah County, UT|Utah County]] and the state of [[Utah]]
| pushpin_map                     = Utah#USA#North America
<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = {{flag|United States}}
| subdivision_type1               = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1               = {{flag|Utah}}
| subdivision_type2               = [[List of counties in Utah|County]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Utah County, Utah|Utah]]
| subdivision_type3               = 
| subdivision_name3               = 
<!-- Government -->
| government_footnotes            = 
| government_type                 = 
| leader_title                    = 
| leader_name                     = 
| established_title               = Settled
| established_date                = 1850
| established_title2              = [[Incorporated town|Incorporated]]
| established_date2               = June 4, 1853
| established_title3              = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
| established_date3               = 
| named_for                       = [[American Fork (river)]]
<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref                       = Imperial
| area_footnotes                  = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_49.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_km2                  = 28.90
| area_land_km2                   = 28.87
| area_water_km2                  = 0.02
| area_total_sq_mi                = 11.16
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 11.15
| area_water_sq_mi                = 0.01
| area_metro_sq_mi                = 
<!-- Population -->
| population_as_of                = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes            = 
| population_note                 = 
| population_total                = 33337
| population_density_km2          = 1154.73
| population_density_sq_mi        = 2987.19
<!-- General information -->
| timezone                        = [[Mountain Standard Time Zone|MST]]
| utc_offset                      = &minus;7
| timezone_DST                    = [[Mountain Daylight Time|MDT]]
| utc_offset_DST                  = &minus;6
| coordinates                     = {{coord|40|21|40|N|111|47|26|W|region:US-UT|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes           = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_footnotes             = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft                    = 4613
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
| postal_code_type                = ZIP code
| postal_code                     = 84003
| area_codes                      = [[Area codes 385 and 801|385, 801]]
| blank_name                      = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info                      = 49-01310<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name                     = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info                     = 2409697<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2409697}}</ref>
| website                         = {{url| https://www.americanfork.gov/}}
| footnotes                       = 
}}

'''American Fork''' is a city in north-central [[Utah County, Utah]], United States, at the foot of [[Mount Timpanogos]] in the [[Wasatch Range]], north from [[Utah Lake]]. The city is {{convert|32|mi}} southeast of [[Salt Lake City]] and is part of the [[Provo–Orem metropolitan area|Provo&ndash;Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. The population was 33,337 in 2020.<ref name="USCensusEst2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref> The city has grown rapidly since the 1970s.

==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"/>

==Geography==
Elevations throughout the city range from {{convert|4566|ft|m}} to {{convert|4619|ft|m}} above sea level.<ref>[http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ut/american-fork.htm Idcide.com]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=American Fork Elevation (4599.36 FT)|url=https://www.distancesto.com/elevation/us/american-fork-latitude-longitude/history/16934.html|access-date=2021-03-19|website=www.distancesto.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=elevationmap.net|title=American Fork, Utah, United States on the Elevation Map. Topographic Map of American Fork, Utah, United States.|url=https://elevationmap.net/|access-date=2021-03-19|website=elevationmap.net|language=en|archive-date=March 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314212235/https://elevationmap.net/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of 9.2&nbsp;square miles (23.9&nbsp;km{{sup|2}}), all land.

==Demographics==
[[File:IHC American Fork Hospital.jpg|thumb|left|American Fork IHC Hospital]]
[[File:2015-11-03 10 15 37 View from an airplane of the cities of Lehi, American Fork and Highland, Utah along Interstate 15.jpg|thumb|right|View of [[Lehi, Utah|Lehi]] (foreground), American Fork (upper right) and [[Highland, Utah|Highland]] (upper left) from an airplane]]
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1870= 1115
|1880= 1825
|1890= 1942
|1900= 2732
|1910= 3220
|1920= 3290
|1930= 3641
|1940= 3906
|1950= 5126
|1960= 6373
|1970= 7713
|1980= 13606
|1990= 15696
|2000= 21941
|2010= 26262
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|2020=33337|2020n=}}
As of the census estimates<ref name="GR2" /> in 2023, there were an estimated 38,549 people in 10,240 households residing in the city. The population density was 3457.1 people per square mile (1,334.9/km{{sup|2}}). The racial makeup of the city was 82.1% [[White (U.S. Census)|White (non-Hispanic)]], 9.9% [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]. 1.6% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.4% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.2% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], and 7% from two or more races. 6.1% of the population were foreign-born.

30.3% of the population were under 18 years old (8.1% under 5); 9.7% were 65 or older. 48.7% of the population were female. 94.3% of persons over 25 had high school degrees, and 40.9% had bachelor's degrees or higher.  In the 2010 census 7.1% identified themselves as being either [[bisexual]] or [[homosexual]].

The median income for a household in the city was $90,490. 6.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]]. The homeownership rate was 71.3%. The last known number of housing units was 7,598 in 2007. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $406,900.

In 2007 there were 2,754 businesses in the city, with total retail sales of over $724 million.

==Religious history==
[[File:American Fork Utah Presbyterian Church.jpeg|thumb|Utah Presbyterian Church in American Fork]]
The first ward of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) in American Fork was organized in 1851 with Leonard E. Harrington as bishop. As of 2022, there are seven stakes headquartered in the city as well as [[Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple]], which was dedicated in 1996.<ref>''LDS Church Almanac'', 2008 Edition, p. 285-287</ref>

While the majority of the population are members of the LDS Church, there are several other faith communities in the city. The Community Presbyterian Church of American Fork was organized in 1877. In 1973 St. Peter's Catholic Parish was organized in American Fork.<ref name="historytogo.utah.gov" /> Additional faith groups or churches include [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], Calvary Chapel, and Faith Independent Baptist Church.

==Education==
[[File:Harrington Elementary School American Fork Utah.jpeg|thumb|Harrington Elementary School]]
Public schools in American Fork are part of the [[Alpine School District]] and include a senior high school ([[American Fork High School]]), junior high school (American Fork Jr. High), and five elementary schools (Barratt Elementary, Forbes Elementary, Greenwood Elementary, Legacy Elementary, and Shelley Elementary).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alpineschools.org/schools/elementary-schools |title=Elementary Schools |publisher=Alpine School District |access-date=November 1, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102091412/http://alpineschools.org/schools/elementary-schools |archive-date=November 2, 2012 }}</ref> Shane Farnsworth is the Superintendent of Schools.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://alpineschools.org/departments/administration|title=Administration
|publisher=Alpine School District|access-date=January 6, 2017}}</ref>


Private schools include [[American Heritage School (Utah)|American Heritage School]].

== Transportation ==
[[File:American Fork UT Frontrunner station.jpg|thumb|A [[FrontRunner]] Station in American Fork. The frontRunner is the commuter rail line along the [[Wasatch Front]].]]In 2012, the [[FrontRunner]] commuter rail line began operation in Utah County, opening the [[American Fork station]].

==Notable people==
* [[Paul Dayton Bailey]] – author and owner of Westernlore Press
* [[Merrill J. Bateman]] – emeritus [[general authority]] of the LDS Church and former President of [[Brigham Young University]]
* [[Wayne Booth]] – literary Scholar at the [[University of Chicago]]
* [[Reva Beck Bosone]] – first female [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from Utah
* [[Witney Carson]] – ballroom dancer on ''[[Dancing with the Stars]]'' and participant on ''[[So You Think You Can Dance]]''
* [[Stephen L. Chipman]], prominent LDS Church leader and businessman.
* [[D. Todd Christofferson]] - LDS Church leader and current member of the [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]]
* [[Jordan Devey]] – is a former American football offensive guard
* [[Gary Herbert]] – former [[Governor of Utah]]
* [[Joshua James (folk singer)|Joshua James]] – folk singer-songwriter
* [[Grant Liddle]] – endocrinologist
* [[Mia Love]] – [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from [[Utah]]'s 4th Congressional District
* [[Brandon Sanderson]] – fantasy author
* [[MyKayla Skinner]] – artistic gymnast, Olympic silver medalist
* [[Daniel Wayne Sermon]] – lead guitarist in the rock band [[Imagine Dragons]]
* [[Madison Snow]] – racing driver
* [[James LeVoy Sorenson]] – medical inventor
* [[Andrew Tolman]] – drums, percussion, backing vocals, rhythm guitar formerly of the rock band [[Imagine Dragons]]

== Exchange program ==
American Fork has an inter-city exchange program with [[Indio, California]], [[United States|U.S.]] in a way similar to an international Sister City.

==See also==
{{portal|Utah}}
* [[List of cities and towns in Utah]]

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|American Fork, Utah}}
{{Wikivoyage|American Fork|American Fork, Utah}}
* {{official|http://www.afcity.org/}}
* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/6546 Early schools in American Fork, MSS 2832] at [[L. Tom Perry Special Collections]], [[Harold B. Lee Library]], [[Brigham Young University]]

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = American Fork
|North     = [[Highland, Utah|Highland]]
|Northeast = [[Cedar Hills, Utah|Cedar Hills]]
|East      = [[Pleasant Grove, Utah|Pleasant Grove]]
|Southeast = [[Lindon, Utah|Lindon]]
|South     = ''[[Utah Lake]]''<br/>[[Santaquin, Utah|Santaquin]]
|Southwest = [[Saratoga Springs, Utah|Saratoga Springs]] / ''[[Utah Lake]]''
|West      = [[Lehi, Utah|Lehi]]
|Northwest = 
}}

{{Utah County, Utah}}
{{Utah}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American Fork, Utah| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Utah]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1850]]
[[Category:Provo–Orem metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Cities in Utah County, Utah]]