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B−History
History · Pleasant Grove

Pleasant Grove dates to 1850, and 18 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #42 of 119 in Utah. What drives it

Most of Pleasant Grove was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. 18 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 134 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1860.

1850founded
18on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pleasant Grove began

When was Pleasant Grove founded?

1850

Pleasant Grove dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 526 in 18602020 census: 37,726176 years

How historic is Pleasant Grove?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pleasant Grove’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pleasant Grove is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #42 of 119 in Utah. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pleasant Grove’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.8% of homes (±1.0) · typical UT town 2.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register18 listings, 152 historic buildings, 40.2 per 10,000 residents · typical UT town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Utah towns of 2,500+ (119)Ahead of 65%

Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pleasant Grove’s 40.2 sits above most of its state (83% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 152 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1850.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Pleasant Grove’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Pleasant Grove Historic District takes in 134 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1900 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.Landmarks on the Register18 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

18 listings protect 152 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
18
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
152
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Ashton-Driggs House
Ashton-Driggs HouseJoseph Olpin HousePleasant Grove SchoolPeter Axel Johnson HousePleasant Grove Tithing OfficePleasant Grove Town HallFugal Dugout HouseEdward Wadley HouseJacob Hanmer White HouseNeils Peter Larsen HouseSamuel Green HouseThomas A. Richins HouseWilliam Friend Young HouseChristen Larsen HouseBeers House-HotelFugal Blacksmith ShopPleasant Grove Historic DistrictJohn Alma Adams House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular11
Greek Revival3
Classical2
Italianate2
Late Victorian2
Neo-Classical1
Ashton-Driggs HouseGreek Revival
Joseph Olpin HouseVernacular
Pleasant Grove SchoolBuilding
Peter Axel Johnson HouseGreek Revival
Pleasant Grove Tithing OfficeNeo-Classical
Pleasant Grove Town HallVernacular
Fugal Dugout HouseVictorian
Edward Wadley HouseVernacular
All 18 listings
Jacob Hanmer White HouseBuilding · listed 1987Neils Peter Larsen HouseBuilding · listed 1987Samuel Green HouseBuilding · listed 1987Thomas A. Richins HouseBuilding · listed 1987William Friend Young HouseBuilding · listed 1987Christen Larsen HouseBuilding · listed 1987Beers House-HotelBuilding · listed 1994Fugal Blacksmith ShopBuilding · listed 1994Pleasant Grove Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1995John Alma Adams HouseBuilding · listed 1987

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Pleasant Grove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasant Grove’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Pleasant Grove, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,0001900195020002,460 in 1900Low: 1,618

Lost a third of its people between 1900 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pleasant Grove’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Pleasant Grove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pleasant Grove.

Read it all →

On July 19, 1850, William H. Adams, John Mercer and Philo T. Farnsworth, Mormon pioneers sent by Brigham Young, arrived at the area now known as Pleasant Grove and staked out farms in what is now the southwest corner of the city. A small community was established September 13, 1850, consisting of George S. Clark and his wife, Susannah Dalley Clark, Richard and Ann Elizabeth Sheffer Clark, John Greenleaf Holman and Nancy Clark Holman, Lewis Harvey and his wife Lucinda Clark Harvey, Johnathan Harvey and Sarah Herbert Harvey, Charles Price and wife and child, Widow Harriet Marler and children, John Wilson, Ezekiel Holman, and possibly one or two others, relatives of those mentioned. Of note, William Fletcher and Anne Hawley Reynolds in 1852 brought Ellis Reynolds Shipp to live, which Shipp became the legendary MD, Obstetrician, and Pediatrician, through the young women's midwife training p…

ChaptersSettlement and incorporationEarly relations with Native AmericansMedia appearances

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pleasant Grove, 1849 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849In the archiveBattle Creek, 1849, Oliver Huntington Account
  3. 1850
    FoundingPleasant Grove is established
  4. 1852Post officeThe Pleasant Grove post office opens
  5. 1872Born hereAmy B. Lyman is born here
  6. 1873Born hereHoward R. Driggs is born here
  7. 1892Born hereLyman Knute Swenson is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1990Born hereC. J. Wilcox is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 37,726
By decade

Pleasant Grove, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1840s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1840s1 item
Battle Creek, 1849, Oliver Huntington Account1849Battle Creek, 1849, Oliver Huntington AccountBook
Today18 recent
Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days2018Pleasant Grove Strawberry DaysStarting up Battle Creek Trail, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jul 172017Starting up Battle Creek Trail, Pleasant Grove, Utah,…Southeast at SR-129 & SR-135 junction, Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan 172017Southeast at SR-129 & SR-135 junction, Pleasant Grove…Sinclair dino in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan 172017Sinclair dino in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Jan 17Mount Timpanogos from Battle Creek Trail, Jul 172017Mount Timpanogos from Battle Creek Trail, Jul 17Down the canyon at Utah Lake, Aug 172017Down the canyon at Utah Lake, Aug 17Pleasant Grove, United States (Unsplash CzdrRlfRhok)2016Pleasant Grove, United States (Unsplash CzdrRlfRhok)Light bulb filament (Unsplash)2016Light bulb filament (Unsplash)Clocktower in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Aug 162016Clocktower in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Aug 162015-11-03 10 16 13 View from an airplane of the cities of Lehi, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Lindon and Orem, Utah a…20152015-11-03 10 16 13 View from an airplane of the citi…Installation of glass2014Installation of glassPleasant Grove, UT - Looking West over Utah Lake2009Pleasant Grove, UT - Looking West over Utah LakePleasantgrovekiwanisparkmonument2008PleasantgrovekiwanisparkmonumentPleasantgrovecityparkmonument2008PleasantgrovecityparkmonumentLittle mountain utah2007Little mountain utahMount Timpanogos and Utah Valley, Utah2004Mount Timpanogos and Utah Valley, UtahMount Timpanogos and Utah Valley, Utah2004Mount Timpanogos and Utah Valley, UtahMount Timpanogos and Utah Valley, Utah2004Mount Timpanogos and Utah Valley, Utah
On the map

Pleasant Grove on the map, 1948 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pleasant Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Pleasant Grove on the 1948 USGS mapPleasant Grove on the 1950 USGS mapPleasant Grove on the 1969 USGS mapPleasant Grove on the 1975 USGS mapPleasant Grove on the 1994 USGS map1948Orem sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pleasant Grove.

Every building

Pleasant Grove, building by building, 1890–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Pleasant Grove fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Pleasant Grove

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C. J. WilcoxAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
Howard R. DriggsAmerican academic · b. 1873
Amy B. LymanLeader in the LDS Church and American politician · b. 1872
Lyman Knute SwensonUnited States Navy submarine commander and Navy… · b. 1892
Todd HerzogAmerican reality television contestant · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cedar HillsIts storyD−Lindon1 historic placeCAmerican Fork15 historic placesB−

Questions about Pleasant Grove’s history

What year was Pleasant Grove founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. Pleasant Grove’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1860 counted 526 people here.

How does Pleasant Grove rank for history?

Pleasant Grove is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #42 of 119 in Utah. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Pleasant Grove?

18 listings: 17 buildings, among them the Ashton-Driggs House (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Pleasant Grove Historic District, with 134 contributing buildings. 152 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Pleasant Grove?

3% of Pleasant Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1999.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (19), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.