Spanish Fork

Spanish Fork, city, Utah county, northern Utah, U.S., situated about 8 miles (13 km) south of Provo. The city takes its name from the Spanish Fork River, along which the Spanish missionary-explorers Francisco Domínguez and Sylvestre Vélez de Escalante traveled in 1776 to conduct a survey of the region. In 1854 Mormon settlers established a fort alongside the river, around which a town grew. Prosperous farms and food-production industries provided the economic basis for the city until the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when technology and defense-related manufactures took a more prominent role. The city’s population has increased dramatically since 1990. Inc. 1858. Pop. (2000) 20,246; (2010) 34,691.