Pleasant Grove

PLEASANT GROVE CITY REAL ESTATE

Pleasant Grove, also known as the “Utah’s City of Trees,” has a charming history that dates back to the mid-1850’s. Pleasant Grove is located at the base of the Mt. Timpanogos Bench and spans 9+ square miles. Pleasant Grove is close to both BYU and UVU campuses, and many shopping, dining and entertainment amenities. “PG,” as the locals call it, has two hikes beginning right at the base of the mountain, Battle Creek Canyon and Grove Creek Canyon that are worth your time.

Strawberry Days is an annual festival that dates back to the original settlers who farmed the hearty crop. The community continues this festival today, and it is the longest continuing celebration in Utah to date.

PLEASANT GROVE SCHOOLS

Elementary

Middle/Junior High Schools

High Schools

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Strawberry Days Festival

Pleasant Grove is home to a unique summer festival, Strawberry Days, the longest continuing community celebration in Utah to date. The city hosts the annual festival, usually during the third week of June. 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. Although no strawberries are currently grown commercially in the city, the festival takes its name from a time when strawberries were a major economic activity in the city. The first Strawberry Days celebration was held the second week of June 1921. It was organized by the Wasatch Club, the forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce.

Ski Resorts

We wouldn't be very good Utahns if we didn't mention the great skiing available! Utah is known for having some of the best powder and ski resorts in the world. Most of them are less than an hour's drive away from Draper.

NEARBY

SHOPPING

I-15 ACCESS

Access to I-15 is located at exit 275, Pleasant Grove Blvd.

LOCAL HISTORY TIDBITS

Like many of the communities in Utah, Pleasant Grove was settled by the Mormon pioneers. These early settlers were sent by Brigham Young, thus establishing the small community September 13, 1850. The pioneers were attracted by a small grove of trees which gave promise and hope of a land with water and rich soil. The official name "Pleasant Grove" didn't come first although the name was based on the small grove of trees that were here when they first arrived. The first name of this community was "Battle Creek", named after the first skirmish in Utah between the Indians and pioneers, located in the mouth of the canyon above this small community.

Because of the Indian conflicts, the settlers were instructed to build a fort for protection. 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, local historians erected memorial cornerstones. 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. A meeting house and school house were then constructed to meet the spiritual and educational needs of the people who came to Pleasant Grove.

Territorial legislature came January 19, 1855 and Pleasant Grove was approved to become incorporated. Nicknames began popping up that described certain areas of the community: "Little Denmark" was the area where Scandinavian people settled: "Monkey Town" was named because the youth gathered on "fog" corner in the area and "monkeyed" around, which caused adults great concern over the "...mischievousness of the youth." "Mud Hole" was an area where the community's merchandising and entertainment occurred. It was said that the "upper class" lived in this area.

Life was difficult. The settlers were terrified of the Indians but also had to face famine and hunger. They had to rely on one another to survive a few winters. The meeting house was also used as a storehouse but a fire brought the building and it's contents to the ground and there just wasn't enough time to re-stock before winter came on again.

Life wasn't all filled with hardships, however, people often met socially and because of the abundant strawberry crop every summer, "Strawberry Days" was created. Strawberry Days is the longest continuing community celebration in Utah to date.

The strawberry fields are now gone, taken over by development. The school house still stands and has been converted into a very nice pioneer museum to remind us of those who came first, those who were willing to take the risk, make their homes in a relatively unknown wilderness and to prepare the way for those who came after.

This city was one of the filming locations for Universal's 1995 film Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain. Also, some filming of Stephen King's "The Stand".

*Pleasant Grove City information obtained from: Info obtained from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasant_Grove,_Utah and http://www.plgrove.org