Spring Plowing

Mormon pioneers arrived at Spanish Fork in 1850 with Enoch Reece claiming 400 acres in the river bottoms two miles west of the current town, building the first house and starting the first business of raising cattle. In the winter of 1850-51, a few families settled along the Spanish Fork River in dugout homes in the high riverbank. By the end of 1852 the population along the river had grown to over 100 families. In 1854, Fort Saint Luke was built on the present site of Spanish Fork. In January, 1855, the area of Spanish Fork was incorporated. Soon after Icelandic immigrants established the first permanent Icelandic settlement in the United States. The town continued to grow to over 1,000 to 1860. The main prosperity of the area was agricultural crops and livestock, followed by saw and flour mills. These hardy pioneers dug an irrigation system to farm the rich soil along the Spanish Fork River for their orchards and fields. Their efforts were the foundation of the continuing prosperity Spanish Fork enjoys today.

This monument is located in the Canyon Creek Shopping center in Spanish Fork, Utah