Mapleton

History

The area was first settled in 1850, and for a time was known as Union Bench. It started as an agricultural extension of Springville. Legal action between residents of Springville and what became Mapleton, largely over water rights, allowed Mapleton to chart its course beginning in 1901 when the community incorporated as a town. Mapleton became a city in 1948.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The community lies at an elevation of above sea level. The city is dominated by Spanish Fork Peak to the southeast and Ether Peak to the northeast. Between the two mountains is Maple Canyon, which is home to Whiting Campground in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Mapleton residents continue to call Spanish Fork Peak "Maple Mountain", despite the U.S. Board on Geographic Names having opted for the name that refers to the river and canyon that form its south base. The real Maple Mountain is located about 15 miles to the north, overlooking Provo. The mountain has also been informally referred to as Sierra Bonita and Monument Peak. The city is bounded to the north by Hobble Creek and extends southward to the Ensign-Bickford plant in Spanish Fork. The Mapleton Lateral Canal crosses the eastern side of the city, and the Bureau of Reclamation began piping it in 2007.

Race & ethnicity