Pleasant Grove, Utah

History

Settlement and incorporation

On July 19, 1850, William H. Adams, John Mercer and Philo T. Farnsworth, Mormon pioneers sent by Brigham Young, arrived at the area now known as Pleasant Grove and staked out farms in what is now the southwest corner of the city. A small community was established September 13, 1850, consisting of George S. Clark and his wife, Susannah Dalley Clark, Richard and Ann Elizabeth Sheffer Clark, John Greenleaf Holman and Nancy Clark Holman, Lewis Harvey and his wife Lucinda Clark Harvey, Johnathan Harvey and Sarah Herbert Harvey, Charles Price and wife and child, Widow Harriet Marler and children, John Wilson, Ezekiel Holman, and possibly one or two others, relatives of those mentioned. Of note, William Fletcher and Anne Hawley Reynolds in 1852 brought Ellis Reynolds Shipp to live, which Shipp became the legendary MD, Obstetrician, and Pediatrician, through the young women's midwife training program of Dr. Richards and Eliza Snow, beginning her training in young women's MIA in Pleasant Grove. Pleasant Grove was officially incorporated as a town January 18, 1855, by which time the settlement had grown to 623 people.

Early relations with Native Americans

The original name of the city was Battle Creek. It was named for a massacre which took place there in 1849 between Mormon settlers and a small band of Ute Indians, wherein all the male Utes were massacred when Brigham Young believed the natives had stolen some of his horses (which were found before the attack on the Utes occurred). The settlers later decided they needed a more uplifting name and began calling their town Pleasant Grove after a grove of cottonwood trees located between Battle Creek and Grove Creek, near the current-day intersection of Locust Avenue and Battle Creek Drive. A monument with a plaque describing this battle is located at Kiwanis Park, at the mouth of Battle Creek Canyon.

During the Walker Indian War in the 1850s, citizens built a fort with walls two or three feet thick and six feet tall that occupied an area the size of sixteen city blocks. The settlers in the area at the time built homes inside the fort. While the fort no longer stands, memorial cornerstones were erected by local historians. The northeast monument was erected near the intersection of 100 North and 300 East streets. The northwest monument was erected four blocks west of that point at 100 West Street and the southeast monument erected four blocks south at 300 South Street. The southwest monument would have been located near 300 South 100 West, the area is now occupied by a large parking lot and retail store.

Media appearances

This city was one of the filming locations for Universal's 1995 film Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain. Portions of the 1994 television series The Stand, adapted from the Stephen King novel, were filmed in Pleasant Grove.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.7 sqkm, all land. Sloping off the Mt. Timpanogos bench, Pleasant Grove is represented by a large, white hillside letter "G" just above the city. A small distance south on Battle Creek Canyon is the creek of the same name and 50 feet tall Battle Creek Falls.

Climate

Pleasant Grove's climate features cold winters and hot, dry summers. Under the Köppen climate classification, Pleasant Grove has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). | Jan record high F = 62 | Feb record high F = 70 | Mar record high F = 81 | Apr record high F = 90 | May record high F = 97 | Jun record high F = 103 | Jul record high F = 104 | Aug record high F = 103 | Sep record high F = 100 | Oct record high F = 95 | Nov record high F = 77 | Dec record high F = 66 | year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F = 53.9 |Feb avg record high F = 59.8 |Mar avg record high F = 72.2 |Apr avg record high F = 80.3 |May avg record high F = 88.2 |Jun avg record high F = 95.5 |Jul avg record high F = 100.1 |Aug avg record high F = 97.3 |Sep avg record high F = 92.4 |Oct avg record high F = 83.2 |Nov avg record high F = 68.2 |Dec avg record high F = 56.5 |year avg record high F = 100.8

|Jan avg record low F = 8.9 |Feb avg record low F = 12.3 |Mar avg record low F = 20.4 |Apr avg record low F = 26.8 |May avg record low F = 33.6 |Jun avg record low F = 41.6 |Jul avg record low F = 52.9 |Aug avg record low F = 51.9 |Sep avg record low F = 38.7 |Oct avg record low F = 27.7 |Nov avg record low F = 16.6 |Dec avg record low F = 8.7 |year avg record low F = 5.3

| Jan record low F = -19 | Feb record low F = -17 | Mar record low F = -3 | Apr record low F = 18 | May record low F = 24 | Jun record low F = 29 | Jul record low F = 42 | Aug record low F = 35 | Sep record low F = 24 | Oct record low F = 13 | Nov record low F = -4 | Dec record low F = -14 | year record low F =

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 33,509 people, 6,109 households, and 5,388 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,691.5 per square mile (1,039.1/km2). There were 6,334 housing units at an average density of 726.4 per square mile (280.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.15% White, 0.29% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.39% Pacific Islander, 1.75% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.56% of the population.

There were 6,109 households, out of which 58.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.8% were non-families. 9.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.83 and the average family size was 4.11.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 41.0% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 13.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $52,036, and the median income for a family was $54,182. Males had a median income of $42,042 versus $23,296 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,268. About 5.4% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The city's government consists of a mayor and a city council. As of January 2026, the city's mayor is Eric Jensen. The city council is made up of five members: Dianna Anderson, Todd N. Williams, Cyd LeMone and Steve Rogers. Council members serve staggered terms that end in either 2026 or 2028.

Strawberry Days

Pleasant Grove is home to the summer festival known as Strawberry Days. The first annual “Strawberry Day” (initially a single-day event) was held on June 21, 1922, with 10,000-15,000 people in attendance. The festival was organized by the Wasatch Club, a forerunner of today’s Chamber of Commerce. This first celebration included strawberries and cream and a parade; both remain staples of modern-day Strawberry Days.

The festival’s name originated when strawberry farming was a major economic activity in the city. (Approximately 250 acres of strawberries were being grown in the area when the first festival was held in 1922). The festival retains the traditional name, even though large-scale commercial growing of the fruit no longer occurs in the city. The festival is Utah’s second oldest community harvest festival, younger only than Brigham City's Peach Days–a festival Strawberry Days’ founders hoped to rival.

Today, a rodeo held in conjunction with this festival brings competitors and spectators from throughout the West. The festival includes parades, a carnival, pageants and other activities. The festival is usually held the third week of June, a period chosen in 1922, which would generally correspond with the end of the strawberry harvest for the area.

First amendment case

Main article: Pleasant Grove City v. Summum

In November 2008, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum. The case regarded whether Pleasant Grove, which allowed the display of a privately donated Ten Commandments on public property, must also allow the religion of Summum to display a monument to its "Seven Aphorisms" alongside. Pleasant Grove had declined the Summum offer in 2003. The city lost in the Tenth Circuit. However, the city appealed to the Supreme Court which overturned the Court of Appeals decision, citing the permanence of monuments as opposed to forms of constitutionally protected free speech as well as the fact that governments take ownership of monuments on their properties and thus must "take some care in accepting donated monuments."

Education

Public schools in Pleasant Grove are part of the Alpine School District. Charter schools include John Hancock Charter School and Lincoln Academy. Liahona Preparatory Academy is an accredited K-12 private school serving the area.

Local schools

Elementary schools

• Central
• Grovecrest
• John Hancock Charter School
• Liahona Preparatory Academy
• Lincoln Academy
• Manila
• Mount Mahogany
• Valley View

Junior high/middle schools

• Lincoln Academy
• Pleasant Grove Junior High School

High schools

• Pleasant Grove High School

Recreation

• Community Center
• Veterans Memorial Pool
• Evermore Park

Notable places and events

• Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center
• Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple (on the border in neighboring American Fork)
• Pleasant Grove Pioneers Parade

Notable people

• Quinn Allman, musician, The Used
• Howard Roscoe Driggs, Western historian and educator; born in Pleasant Grove; brother of William King Driggs, Sr.
• Brandon Fugal, businessman and owner of Skinwalker Ranch.
• Todd Herzog, winner of reality TV show Survivor: China
• Chelsie Hightower, contestant on So You Think You Can Dance
• Dane Iorg, former Major League Baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals); World Series champion
• The King Sisters, and their father, agent and organizer William King Driggs, Sr.
• A. Ray Olpin, President of University of Utah from 1946 to 1964
• C. J. Wilcox, 28th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft; shooting guard for the Orlando Magic

Gallery

File:The Wasatch Front - wickenden.jpg|View of Mahogany Mountain in the Wasatch Range, from Pleasant Grove File:LA&SL at Pleasant Grove.jpg|The old Utah Southern Railroad (later the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad) line cutting through the city. Currently part of Union Pacific's Provo Industrial Lead. File:Pleasant Grove Tithing Office.jpg|The historic tithing office File:Old Bell School - Pleasant Grove, Utah - 14 May 2023.jpg|The historic Old Bell School

References

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. {{GNIS. 2411438
4. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Pleasant Grove city, Utah". [[United States Census Bureau]].
5. Not the same Philo T. Farnsworth as the [[Philo Farnsworth. inventor]] born in 1906. ''See also'', [[Investigations and prosecutions relating to the Mountain Meadows massacre#cite ref-54. Philo T. Farnsworth's witness testimony in regard to the Mountain Meadows Massacre]]
6. Ellis Reynolds Shipp: Autobiography, E>R>S, 1898 Deseret Book
7. http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/battle_creek_massacre {{Dead link. (February 2022)
8. (9 December 1993). "Better ways to show school spirit than littering mountain with letters". [[Deseret News]].
9. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Pleasant Grove city, Utah". [[United States Census Bureau]].
10. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
11. "Mayor & City Council".
12. . (June 24, 1922). ["Thousands of People Celebrate First Big Strawberry Day"](https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6ks7jzj/37548). *American Fork Citizen*.
13. . (June 22, 1922). ["10,000 Attend Strawberry Festival"](https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s68s90gm/23492933). *The Daily Herald*.
14. Holzapfel, Richard N.. (1999). "A History of Utah County". Utah State Historical Society.
15. . (April 29, 1922). ["Pleasant Grove To Have Big Strawberry Day This Summer"](https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6w38pqb/39171). *American Fork Citizen*.
16. (June 2007). "Strawberry Days Edition". Pleasant Grove: Utah's City of Trees.
17. Liptak, Adam. (November 11, 2008). "From Tiny Sect, a Weighty Issue for the Justices". [[New York Times]].
18. (2009-02-25). "Court rules for Utah city in religious marker case". [[Associated Press]].
19. [http://sites.google.com/a/johnhancockcs.org/john-hancock-charter-school/ John Hancock Charter School]
20. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100113001358/http://www.lincoln-academy.org/newsite/ Lincoln Academy]
21. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090105213112/http://www.alpine.k12.ut.us/phpApps/genericPage.php?pdid=1026 Central]
22. [https://web.archive.org/web/20091102234619/http://www.alpine.k12.ut.us/phpApps/genericPage.php?pdid=61 Grovecrest]
23. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101011120116/http://www.alpine.k12.ut.us/phpApps/genericPage.php?pdid=2259 Manila]
24. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120301141915/http://www.alpine.k12.ut.us/phpApps/genericPage.php?pdid=2260 Mount Mahogany]
25. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100109041424/http://valleyview.alpinedistrict.org/ Valley View]
26. "Pleasant Grove Junior High School".
27. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100211023120/http://www.plgrove.org/recreation-center Community Center]
28. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100209035054/http://plgrove.org/veterans-memorial-pool Veterans Memorial Pool]
29. Baggerly, Kayla. (September 20, 2024). "Name revealed for new fantasy-themed venue at former Evermore Park property".
30. (September 20, 2024). "Name revealed for new fantasy-themed venue at former Evermore Park property".