# Spring City, Utah

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**Spring City** is a city in Sanpete County, [Utah](/source/Utah), United States, situated at 5,823 feet (1,775 m) in the [Sanpete Valley](/source/Sanpete_Valley) of central Utah. The population was 949 at the [2020 census](/source/2020_United_States_Census). Its town center is listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) as the Spring City Historic District, recognized as a well-preserved example of a Latter-day Saint pioneer settlement with a concentration of 19th-century oolitic limestone architecture.[3] The city has attracted professional artists since the 1970s and is home to Spring City Arts, a nonprofit organization that operates a gallery in a restored early-20th-century automobile showroom on Main Street.[4]

## History

In 1850, LDS Church president [Brigham Young](/source/Brigham_Young) and his counselor [Heber C. Kimball](/source/Heber_C._Kimball) toured the Sanpete Valley and identified sites for future settlements; church leaders envisioned a line of communities stretching the length of the valley to ensure effective control of the region.[5] Spring City was first known as "Allred Settlement".[6] The original settlers in 1852 were under the leadership of James Allred, a North Carolina-born early convert who had been advised by Young to "select a place for settlement where he could locate with his numerous posterity and kindred."[5] On March 26, 1852, Allred and several sons began settling the area along Canal Creek; by winter, about 12 families occupied what was then called "Canal" or the "Allred Settlement."[5] When a [Latter-day Saint](/source/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints) ward was organized there in 1853, Ruben W. Allred was appointed the first bishop. The settlement was abandoned in the summer of 1853 because of ongoing conflict with the [Ute people](/source/Ute_people), including San Pitch Utes, from which Sanpete County derives its name.[5][7][8] The village was reestablished as "Springtown" in 1859 by William Black, George Black and Joseph S. Black. Christen G. Larsen was made bishop of a new LDS ward in 1860.

Beginning in 1853, the Allred family and other church leaders encouraged Danish immigrants to settle in Sanpete County; by the mid-1860s locals referred to the north side of town as "Little Copenhagen" or "Little Denmark".[5] The Danish community contributed skills as tradesmen, bakers, blacksmiths, shoemakers, and masons, and introduced the *parstuga* house type — a three-room single-storey plan from Scandinavia — to the town's architectural mix.[5]

Spring City was also a site of fighting during the [Black Hawk War](/source/Black_Hawk_War_(Utah)).[9] The town was incorporated in 1870; the arrival of the railroad in 1890 made exporting agricultural products and importing goods more accessible.[5]

[Orson Hyde](/source/Orson_Hyde) (1805–1878), an early [apostle](/source/Apostle_(Latter_Day_Saints)) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, resided in Spring City and is buried in the Spring City Cemetery.

## Geography

Spring City lies at an elevation of 5,823 feet (1,775 m) in the Sanpete Valley of central Utah, tucked beneath the [Wasatch Plateau](/source/Wasatch_Plateau), which rises on the town's eastern perimeter. According to the [United States Census Bureau](/source/United_States_Census_Bureau), the city covers 1.41 square miles (3.66 km2), all land.[10] Two creeks run through the town: Canal Creek, which cuts through the southeastern corner, and Oak Creek, which runs in a northwesterly course.[5]

### Climate

Spring City has a [semi-arid climate](/source/Semi-arid_climate) ([Köppen](/source/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification) BSk), with cold winters and warm summers. The data below reflects climate normals recorded at [Ephraim, Utah](/source/Ephraim,_Utah), the nearest reporting station, approximately 5 miles (8 km) to the south.[11]

## Government

Spring City operates under a [mayor–council](/source/Mayor%E2%80%93council_government) form of government. As of 2018, the city's mayor was Jack Monnett, then affiliated with the [Constitution Party](/source/Constitution_Party_(United_States)).[12]

## Economy

Spring City's economy is primarily agricultural. After treaties with Native American tribes were signed in 1869, residents turned to agriculture, stock raising, lumbering, wool growing, and mercantile trade; fields at the city's edges continue to be planted with crops.[5] The arts community, which began attracting professional artists to the town in the 1970s, contributes a secondary economic base through galleries, pottery sales, and the annual Plein Air Competition and studio tour.[4][13]

Spring City owns and operates its own municipal electric utility and a small hydroelectric generation plant at the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon, which supplies power to residents and customers within city limits and portions of the surrounding buffer zone.[14]

## Demographics

### 2023 estimate

According to the 2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Spring City had a population of 1,094.[15] The median age was 47.3 years. The median household income was $65,139. About 9.0% of the population lived below the [poverty line](/source/Poverty_line). Of 456 housing units, 55 (12.1%) were vacant; of 401 occupied units, 346 (86.3%) were owner-occupied and 55 (13.7%) were renter-occupied.[15]

Racial composition — 2023 ACS 5-year estimate[15] Race Number Percent White 985 90.0% Black or African American 0 0.0% American Indian and Alaska Native 7 0.6% Asian 2 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 9 0.8% Some other race 30 2.7% Two or more races 61 5.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 87 8.0%

### 2020 census

As of the [2020 census](/source/2020_United_States_census), Spring City had a population of 949. The median age was 46.1 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 25.9% were 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.4 males.[16]

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[17]

There were 354 households, of which 31.9% had children under 18. Of all households, 68.9% were married-couple households, 11.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 16.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 17.8% were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone age 65 or older.[16]

There were 414 housing units, of which 14.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.[16]

Racial composition as of the 2020 census[18] Race Number Percent White 851 89.7% Black or African American 0 0.0% American Indian and Alaska Native 0 0.0% Asian 2 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 6 0.6% Some other race 18 1.9% Two or more races 72 7.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 72 7.6%

### 2000 census

The 2000 [census](/source/Census)[1] recorded 956 people, 312 households, and 243 families. The [population density](/source/Population_density) was 720.5 per square mile (277.5/km2). There were 370 housing units at an average density of 278.8 per square mile (107.4/km2). The racial makeup was 94.98% [White](/source/White_(U.S._Census)), 0.10% [African American](/source/African_American_(U.S._Census)), 0.31% [Native American](/source/Native_American_(U.S._Census)), 0.21% [Asian](/source/Asian_(U.S._Census)), 0.42% [Pacific Islander](/source/Pacific_Islander_(U.S._Census)), 1.88% from [other races](/source/Race_(United_States_Census)), and 2.09% from two or more races. [Hispanic](/source/Hispanic_(U.S._Census)) or [Latino](/source/Latino_(U.S._Census)) people of any race were 3.56% of the population.

There were 312 households, of which 41.7% had children under 18, 70.2% were [married couples](/source/Marriage), 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 17.6% were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone age 65 or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.53.

The median household income was $34,609 and the median family income was $37,813. The [per capita income](/source/Per_capita_income) was $12,310. About 15.6% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the [poverty line](/source/Poverty_line), including 25.3% of those under 18 and 17.7% of those 65 or older.

## Education

Spring City is located in the [North Sanpete School District](/source/North_Sanpete_School_District).[19] The city contains an elementary school. Students attend North Sanpete Middle School in [Moroni](/source/Moroni,_Utah) and [North Sanpete High School](/source/North_Sanpete_High_School) in [Mount Pleasant](/source/Mount_Pleasant,_Utah).

## Transportation

[Utah State Route 17](/source/Utah_State_Route_17) passes through Spring City as the main road through town. [U.S. Route 89](/source/U.S._Route_89), the principal highway through the Sanpete Valley, runs approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west, bypassing the city.[5] A railroad spur reached the Sanpete Valley in 1890, enabling residents to export agricultural products more readily, though no passenger or freight rail service currently serves the city.[5]

## Spring City Historic District

The Spring City Historic District boundaries coincide with the city limits. This designation recognizes Spring City's status as a well-preserved example of a Latter-day Saint pioneer settlement. The district is primarily residential in character, but includes the town's commercial core.[20]

Spring City was listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) on October 22, 1980.[3]

[Oolitic limestone](/source/Oolite) and adobe are the predominant building materials; brick, frame, and log structures are also present.[20] House types from the 1865–1890 period comprise over one-third of the extant buildings, ranging from single-room log cabins to two-storey cross-wing houses. The dominant structure in the district is the LDS meetinghouse, an oolitic limestone building constructed between 1902 and 1911 to a design by Provo architect Richard C. Watkins, replacing an earlier adobe meetinghouse erected in 1863–64.[5] Pattern-book styles of the 1880–1910 period, including pyramid cottages with projecting gables, account for approximately another third of the housing stock.[20]

The district includes a [Masonic](/source/Freemasonry) lodge on B Street between Second and Main Streets, one of the few non-LDS institutional buildings in the predominantly Latter-day Saint settlement.[21]

### Preservation and restoration

The old Spring City schoolhouse, documented in the [Historic American Buildings Survey](/source/Historic_American_Buildings_Survey) (survey UT-70-J), was acquired from the school district for $1 after a period of use as a camper manufacturing plant. The local [Daughters of Utah Pioneers](/source/Daughters_of_Utah_Pioneers) chapter stewarded the building for decades; when that group could no longer maintain the project, painter [Lee Udall Bennion](/source/Lee_Udall_Bennion) and ceramicist [Joseph Bennion](/source/Joseph_Bennion) co-founded Friends of Historic Spring City, a nonprofit that funds ongoing restoration through an annual home tour. The schoolhouse restoration took approximately 40 years to complete.[22]

## Arts and culture

Although still primarily a farming community, Spring City has been known as an artist community since the late 20th century.[4] [Joseph Bennion](/source/Joseph_Bennion) and [Lee Udall Bennion](/source/Lee_Udall_Bennion) were among the first professional artists to settle permanently in the town; Bennion established Horseshoe Mountain Pottery on Main Street in 1980, and their presence drew subsequent artists to the area.[13] In 2010, *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)* named Spring City one of "America's Prettiest Towns".[23]

Spring City Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, promotes art and art education in Spring City and Sanpete County.[4] The organization operates the Spring City Arts Gallery in a restored early-20th-century automobile showroom on Main Street, open primarily during the winter season.[4] Each year the organization hosts a Plein Air Competition and an open studio tour.[4]

## Annual events

Heritage Day, organized by Friends of Historic Spring City and held on Memorial Day weekend (10 a.m.–4 p.m.), features a ticketed historic homes tour, an art auction, a framed art sale, live music, food trucks, and a bake sale by the local [Daughters of Utah Pioneers](/source/Daughters_of_Utah_Pioneers) chapter.[24][25] The event draws thousands of visitors each year to tour the town's 19th-century pioneer architecture.[26]

Pioneer Day events on July 24–25 include a Fireman's Breakfast and a Pioneer Parade down Main Street.[24]

The Spring City Arts Plein Air Competition and Studio Tour, held on a Saturday in late August or early September, draws artists from across the region to paint rural Sanpete Valley scenes; the public may view completed work, visit local artist studios, and purchase paintings.[24][4]

A Bluegrass and Folk Festival is held in late summer.[27]

A Candlelight Christmas home tour and art sale is held each December at the Spring City Community Center (the restored schoolhouse), with decorated pioneer homes, carol singers, bluegrass music, and a miniature art sale.[24]

## Notable people

- [Orson Hyde](/source/Orson_Hyde) (1805–1878), Mormon apostle
- [Jacob Johnson](/source/Jacob_Johnson_(U.S._politician)), U.S. Representative from Utah
- [Joel Skousen](/source/Joel_Skousen), survivalist and author
- [Joseph Bennion](/source/Joseph_Bennion), studio potter and river guide
- [Lee Udall Bennion](/source/Lee_Udall_Bennion), figurative painter

## See also

- [List of cities and towns in Utah](/source/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_Utah)
- [National Register of Historic Places in Sanpete County, Utah](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_in_Sanpete_County,_Utah)

## References

1. ["U.S. Census website"](https://www.census.gov). [United States Census Bureau](/source/United_States_Census_Bureau). Retrieved January 31, 2008.

1. ["Welcome to Spring City Arts"](http://www.springcityarts.com/). Spring City Arts. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

1. ["The Founding of Spring City"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110726152437/http://www.historicspringcity.org/history/index.html). Friends of Historic Spring City. Archived from [the original](http://historicspringcity.org/history/index.html) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

1. ["Spring City"](http://springcitycorp.com/). Spring City Corporation. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

1. ["Sanpete County"](http://www.ilovehistory.utah.gov/place/counties/sanpete.html). *I Love History*. Utah Division of State History. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

1. Fletcher, Lyle. ["Where did Sanpete Get \[*sic*\] Name?"](https://archive.today/20130111082905/http://sanpete.com/pages/sanpete_name/). San Pete Messenger. Archived from [the original](http://www.blackhawkproductions.com/sanpete.htm) on January 11, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

1. Andrew Jenson, *Encyclopedic History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints*, p. 827

1. ["2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files"](https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_49.txt). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.

1. ["Climate Ephraim – Utah"](https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/ephraim/utah/united-states/usut0151). *US Climate Data*. Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. ["Constitution Party office holders"](http://www.constitutionparty.com/get-involved/election-central/constitution-party-office-holders/). Constitution Party. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

1. Benson, Lee (May 8, 2003). ["Portrait of an artist's haven"](https://www.deseret.com/2003/5/8/19720772/portrait-of-an-artist-s-haven/). *[Deseret News](/source/Deseret_News)*. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

1. ["Electric"](https://springcityutah.gov/electric/). Spring City Corporation. Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. ["Spring City city, Utah — 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates"](https://data.census.gov/profile/Spring_City_city,_Utah?g=160XX00US4971730). *United States Census Bureau*. 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. ["2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)"](https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dp?get=NAME%2CDP1_0021P%2CDP1_0024P%2CDP1_0025C%2CDP1_0049C%2CDP1_0045C%2CDP1_0069C%2CDP1_0073C%2CDP1_0125P%2CDP1_0126P%2CDP1_0129P%2CDP1_0133P%2CDP1_0137P%2CDP1_0138P%2CDP1_0139P%2CDP1_0141P%2CDP1_0142P%2CDP1_0143P%2CDP1_0145P%2CDP1_0146P%2CDP1_0147C%2CDP1_0148C%2CDP1_0149C%2CDP1_0156C%2CDP1_0157C%2CDP1_0158C%2CDP1_0159P%2CDP1_0160P&for=place%3A71730&in=state%3A49). *United States Census Bureau*. 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2026.

1. ["2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)"](https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dhc?get=NAME%2CP2_002N%2CP2_003N&for=place%3A71730&in=state%3A49). *United States Census Bureau*. 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2026.

1. ["2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)"](https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME%2CP1_001N%2CP1_003N%2CP1_004N%2CP1_005N%2CP1_006N%2CP1_007N%2CP1_008N%2CP1_009N%2CP2_001N%2CP2_002N%2CH1_001N%2CH1_002N&for=place%3A71730&in=state%3A49). *United States Census Bureau*. 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2026.

1. ["2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Sanpete County, UT"](https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st49_ut/schooldistrict_maps/c49039_sanpete/DC20SD_C49039.pdf). [U.S. Census Bureau](/source/U.S._Census_Bureau). Retrieved September 28, 2024. - [Text list](https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st49_ut/schooldistrict_maps/c49039_sanpete/DC20SD_C49039_SD2MS.txt)

1. Carter, Tom (January 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Spring City Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

1. ["Spring City Area Study, Masonic Lodge, B Street, Spring City, Sanpete County, UT"](https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ut0075/). [Historic American Buildings Survey](/source/Historic_American_Buildings_Survey), [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress). Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. Shumway, Mia (August 12, 2024). ["A Spring City artist's reflection on the nearly 40 year restoration of a local landmark"](https://www.upr.org/show/rural-utah-at-a-crossroads/2024-08-12/crossroads-lee-udall-bennion-ephraim). *Utah Public Radio*. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

1. ["America's Prettiest Towns"](https://www.forbes.com/2010/04/15/americas-prettiest-towns-lifestyle-real-estate-top-spring_slide.html). *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*. April 15, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. ["Events"](https://www.friendsofhistoricspringcity.org/events). Friends of Historic Spring City. Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. ["Spring City Heritage Day"](https://ushpo.utah.gov/event/spring-city-heritage-day/). Utah State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. ["Gleaning a Small Town's Harvest in Spring City, Utah"](https://www.visitutah.com/articles/spring-city-utah-heritage-day). [Visit Utah](/source/Visit_Utah). Retrieved April 2, 2026.

1. ["Sanpete Valley"](https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/cities-and-towns/sanpete-spring-city-utah). [Visit Utah](/source/Visit_Utah). Retrieved April 2, 2026.

## External links

- [Official website](http://springcitycorp.com)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spring City, Utah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_City%2C_Utah) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_City%2C_Utah?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.