Springville

History

The first European explorer of what is now Springville was Father Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan padre, in 1776. What became Springville lay along the wagon route called the Mormon Road that Mormon pioneers and 49ers traveled through southern Utah, northern Arizona, southern Nevada and Southern California. From 1855, each winter trains of freight wagons traveled on this road across the deserts between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City until the late 1860s when the railroad arrived in Utah. During the year 1849, a group of pioneers led by William Miller and James Mendenhall traveled to the Provo River area. Mendenhall and Miller explored a little further south and fell in love with what is now known as the Hobble Creek area. Springville was settled in 1850 by eight pioneer families, led by Aaron Johnson, As the town grew, the name was changed to Springville, after the Fort Springville. Fort Springville was named after the many freshwater springs in the area, particularly near the fort. The original name was not completely lost, however, as the canyon stream (and associated canyons), a local elementary school, and city-owned golf course have retained the name Hobble Creek. Springville is known as "Art City" due to its strong development of the arts. Springville is home to the Springville Museum of Art, Utah's oldest museum for the visual fine arts (circa 1937). The museum, housed in a historic Spanish Colonial Revival-style building, showcases collections of many well-known artists, both local and national, including collections of Utah art, a major Soviet collection, early Americana, and the European Steed collection. It was dedicated by David O. McKay as a "sanctuary of beauty and a temple of meditation." Springville is the birthplace of noted sculptor Cyrus…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 0.34%, is water. Springville is on the west side of the Wasatch Mountain Range and east of the average shoreline of Utah Lake and almost entirely east of Interstate 15. All vehicular traffic that transports goods to the north, south, east and west funnels through the interstate hub near Springville's freeway location. With its connection to the arts, Springville is a community that has experienced steady growth over the past ten years. Its current population of 31,205 continues to increase with 4.6% annual growth.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,816
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  12,005
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,603
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  9,151
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  8,792
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  8,371
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  8,247
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  8,173

Most recent

• M 2.69 — 2026-09-27
  15 km E of Kenilworth, Utah
• M 2.86 — 2026-08-07
  6 km NNW of Saratoga Springs, Utah
• M 2.81 — 2026-02-22
  7 km SW of Clear Creek, Utah
• M 3.52 — 2026-02-14
  4 km NNW of West Valley City, Utah
• M 3.5 — 2026-02-05
  6 km WNW of Lehi, Utah
• M 2.75 — 2025-10-08
  6 km WNW of Independence, Utah