American Fork, Utah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, USA, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range, north of Utah Lake. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 21,941 and was estimated at 22,387 in 2004. It has been rapidly growing since the 1970s.
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[edit] Geography
American Fork is located at (40.384200, -111.791963)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.5 km² (7.5 mi²), all land.
American Fork is home to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[edit] History
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. Settlers changed the name to American Fork, after the river that runs through it, in 1860. Most residents were farmers and merchants during its early history. During World War II the town population expanded when the Columbia Steel plant was built in a nearby community. An annual summer celebration in the city is still called "Steel Days" in honor of the importance of the plant, which no longer exists.
[edit] Current Development
The city has worked to maintain the downtown Main Street area. This includes construction of several new city buildings, including a library, district court and police complex, and a fire station. Recently, large-scale retailing has come to the west side of American Fork with the Meadows shopping area, and it has become a shopping attraction for North Utah County. The Interstate 15 freeway traverses the traditional southern and western borders of the city. As build-out approaches for the city north of the freeway, it looks to carefully manage expansion and development in the area south of town, between the freeway and Utah Lake.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 21,941 people, 5,934 households, and 5,109 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,123.5/km² (2,910.7/mi²). There were 6,108 housing units at an average density of 312.8/km² (810.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.24% White, 0.16% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 1.93% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.61% of the population.
There were 5,934 households out of which 54.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.2% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.9% were non-families. 11.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.64 and the average family size was 3.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 38.3% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 14.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $51,955, and the median income for a family was $55,118. Males had a median income of $41,682 versus $24,073 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,293. About 3.2% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
American Fork is also known for its marching band which has performed in many large events including: The Rose Bowl Parade, The presidential inagural parade, and in 2007 the Macy's parade. The marching band is also ranked 2nd in the western states and has gone 4 years undefeated in the state of Utah.
[edit] External links
- American Fork City Official Website
- American Fork City History
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
