Today, we are going to talk about Spanish Fork, another city in the Provo-Orem metropolitan area.

City

Here are some facts about Spanish Fork, Utah

• County
  • Utah
• State
  • Utah
• Country
  • USA
• Settled
  • 1851
• Incorporated
  • January 17, 1855
• Named After
  • A river
• Total Area
  • 16.21 sq mile
• Land
  • 16.21 sq mile
• Water
  • 0
• Elevation
  • 4,666 ft
• Population
  • Total
    • 42,602
  • Density
    • 2,600 sq mile
• Time
  • UTC -7
  • UTC -6 (summer)
• Website
  • Spanishfork.gov

Those are the facts.

History

In 1776, two Franciscan friars from Spain followed a stream down a canyon known as Spanish Fork Canyon. They were seeking a shortcut from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the Spanish missions in California. This is how Spanish Fork got its name.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled here in 1851 as they settled the Utah territory. This area was very beautiful and had enough water for two different settlements.

Icelandic pioneers arrived in 1855, making Spanish Fork the first permanent Icelandic settlement in the United States.

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Then-President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order. This order forced the Utes in the area to move to the Uintah Basin.

Culture

Spanish Fork has the following culture

• Icelandic days
  • It is on June 17
• Harvest Moon hurrah
  • Held on a Saturday in September, which is closest to a full moon
• Festival of Colors
  • This is held by the Sri Radha Krishna Temple, which celebrates Holi.
• Fiesta days
  • It is held around July 24, as this is called Pioneer Day in Utah, a state holiday.

Things to do

Well…

• Golfing
  • Spanish Oaks
• Disc Golfing
• Visiting the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple
• Canyon View Park
• Walking the Spanish Fork River Trail
• Spanish Fork Canyon
• Fishing

Eat at some of the local restaurants. Yes, there are plenty of national chains, but the local places are better.

Fiesta Days

As mentioned before, this is a big event in July. I will talk about that in the next post. Which will be on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, and that will be here (when the post is published)

Notable People

So here are some people you might know

• Issac Asiata
  • Football player
• D. Elden Beck
  • Educator
• Scott Brumfield
  • Football player
• Kate B. Carter
  • Utah pioneer historian
• Zebedee Colin,
  • Utah Pioneer
• Kaycee Felid
  • Barback bronc rider
• Jaren Hall
  • Football player
• Gail Halvorsen
  • U.S. Air Force candy bomber
• Ab Jenkins
  • Politician and racing driver
• Lucky Blue Smith
  • Male model
• Stephen M Studdert
  • Advisor to three U.S. Presidents
• Hefa Leone Tuita
  • Dancer

Spanish Fork is known as the bright sports capital of Utah Valley. Since they are so into baseball, I don’t see any baseball players on that list.

YouTube Video

Coming soon to this post