A group of Mormon pioneers settled the area now known as Lehi in the fall of 1850 at a place called Dry Creek in the northernmost part of Utah Valley. It was renamed Evansville in 1851 after David Evans, a local bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other historical names include Sulphur Springs and Snow's Springs.[6]
The settlement grew so rapidly that, in early 1852, Bishop Evans petitioned the Utah Territorial Legislature to incorporate the settlement. Lehi City was incorporated by legislative act on February 5, 1852. It was the sixth city incorporated in Utah. The legislature also approved a request to call the new city Lehi, after a Book of Mormon prophet of the same name.[7] The first mayor of Lehi was Silas P. Barnes, from 1853 to 1854.[8]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.7 square miles (69.1 km2) of which 26.3 square miles (68.2 km2) is land and 0.35 square miles (0.9 km2), or 1.28%, is water.[10]
As of the American Community Survey (ACS) Demographic and Housing Estimates of 2016,[13] there were 56,314 people living in the city with 14,853 housing units. The estimated racial makeup of the city was 94.6% European American, 0.1% African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population. An estimated 51.2% of the population was male with 48.8% female. The median age as of 2016 was 24.7.
According to the 2010 Census,[14] there were 12,402 households, out of which 61.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.4% were husband-wife families living together, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 11.3% were non-families. 9.0% of all households were made up of individuals (living alone) and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.81 and the average family size was 4.08.
As of 2018, the median income for a household in Lehi was $74,200, and the median income for a family was $88,278. The per capita income for the city was $25,894, including all adults and children. The unemployment rate for Lehi was 3.0%. The job growth rate was at 2.6% and was expected to grow 54.8% over the next 10 years.[15]
Lehi has been transitioning from an agricultural economy to a technological economy. This first started with the lengthy construction of a DRAM microchip plant by Micron Technology, which eventually evolved into a NAND flash memory business called IM Flash Technologies that was founded by both Micron and the Intel Corporation with headquarters in Lehi. In 2013, 1 out of every 14 flash memory chips in the world was produced in Lehi.[16] On June 30, 2021, Texas Instruments announced that they would be purchasing this facility.[17]
Adobe Systems based one of its U.S. buildings in Lehi, which is home to about 900 employees. According to the Adobe website, "The team in Utah is focused on engineering, product development, sales, marketing, and operations for the industry-leading Adobe Marketing Cloud."
IASIS Healthcare built Lehi's first hospital, which opened in June 2015. The company broke ground for the medical center in February 2014. The 23-acre campus houses a 40-bed, full-service facility with an emergency department, intensive care unit, medical imaging, cardiac lab, surgical suites, and labor and delivery.[18]
Ancestry.com moved its headquarters from Provo to Lehi in May 2016. The headquarters building is located in The Corporate Center at Traverse Mountain.
Microsoft has an engineering department specializing in the next version of its MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack), code-named "Park City."[19] Initially employing 100, Microsoft has built a second building to house its staff.[20] Microsoft Southwest District is located at 3400 N. Ashton Blvd., Suite 300 Lehi, Utah 84043.[21]
Lehi Roller Mills was featured in the movie Footloose.
Lehi Roller Mills was founded in 1906 by a co-op of farmers. George G. Robinson purchased the mill in 1910, and it has since remained in the Robinson family, currently run by George's grandson, R. Sherman Robinson. The mill produces some 100,000 pounds of flour each day.
The turkey and peacock flour paintings of Lehi Roller Mills were painted on the silos about 1930 by Stan Russon of Lehi, Utah. He used a rope and pulley system to manually raise and lower himself to be able to paint.
Lehi Roller Mills was featured in the 1984 film Footloose as Ren McCormack's workplace and as the site of the dance. At the time the film was made, Lehi Roller Mills was surrounded by nothing but vacant fields. In one scene, the Reverend Shaw Moore and his wife Vi Moore keep a wary eye on the proceedings while standing in a field some distance away. The area is now home to a variety of fast food restaurants and a shopping center.[24]
Thanksgiving Point is a nonprofit museum complex and estate garden founded in 1995. It consists of six main attractions: the Ashton Gardens, Thanksgiving Point Golf Course, the Museum of Ancient Life, the Museum of Natural Curiosity, Farm Country, and the Butterfly Biosphere.[28] Approximately 1.45 million people visit Thanksgiving Point each year. It is also a location for Megaplex Theaters and has several restaurants and gift shops. It is the site for the region's only Tulip Festival, an annual Scottish Festival, annual Cornbelly's Halloween attraction,[29] and Highland Games.
The complex is a 501(c)(3) organization with operations funded by private donations, venue and event admissions, and profits from shops and restaurants.[30]
The Veterans Memorial Building currently houses Hutchings Museum.
Hutchings Museum
The Hutchings Museum is a museum located near the center of Lehi. It was first established in 1955 in what is now the Lehi Arts Building. The museum later moved its current location in the Veteran Memorial Building at 55 N Center St, Lehi, UT. The collection was donated to the city by John and Eunice Hutchings, who were amateur collectors and naturalists.
Originally designed to be a memorial for the veterans in World War I, the Veteran Memorial Building later expanded to host a library, courthouse, jail, police station, and fire station, among others.[31]
The Hutchings Museum's exhibits include a large range of displays and artifacts featuring Native American culture, geology and paleontology, ornithology, live animals, and both local city and regional history.[32]
Some of the Museum's most notable artifacts include a gun that reportedly belonged to Butch Cassidy, a large collection of rocks and minerals, and several pieces of Native American pottery.[33] The museum has online articles, photos, videos, 3-D scans of artifacts, and a virtual tour.[34]
Mountainland Technical College (MTECH) is a public technical training institution located in Lehi. MTECH serves high school and adult students at the Lehi location, offering programs of study in automotive, culinary arts, healthcare, information technology and a growing number of other industry and technical programs. MTECH offers community education programs such as training in basic computer skills and specific software programs and partners with many area employers in providing customized training for their employees through the Custom Fit program.[37]
Challenger School is located in Lehi, in the Traverse Mountain area.[38]
Infrastructure
Transportation
I-15 runs through Lehi, with five exits (at American Fork Main St/SR-145, Lehi Main St/SR-73, 2100 North/SR-194, Triumph Blvd, and Timpanogos Highway/SR-92) located in the city.[39] The Utah Transit Authority operates a bus system that reaches into the city. Work on the FrontRunner Southcommuter rail began in August 2008, and the Lehi station opened for service on December 12, 2012.[40] The Lehi station is located near Thanksgiving Point.
I-15 construction
Beginning in the spring of 2018, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) began major reconstruction of the I-15 between Lehi Main Street and SR-92 (Timpanogos Highway).[41] The project is contracted to be completed by October 2020 and updates can be found online.
Connor Boyack, outspoken libertarian advocate and author of the children's book series, The Tuttle Twins; founder of The Libertas Institute (headquartered in Lehi)
Lehi Centennial Committee (1950), Lehi Centennial History, 1850-1950; A History of Lehi for One Hundred Years, Lehi, Utah: Free Press Publishing Company.
Lehi Historical Preservation Commission (1997), A Guide to Lehi City's Historical Sites and Places, Lehi, Utah((citation)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
Mellor, Carl J. (1995), Historic Lehi: Pony Express Trail, Stagecoach Route, United States/Mormon War, Porter Rockwell, Lehi, Utah: Lehi Chamber of Commerce.
