Pleasant Grove, Utah County, was founded by Mormon settlers on 13 September 1850, and became an incorporated city on 19 January 1855. It is located twelve miles northwest of Provo and thirty-six miles southeast of Salt Lake City. At this site, the Mormons had their first conflict with the Indians on 5 March 1849 at the head of a stream that became known as Battlecreek; the settlement on this creek at first was unofficially called Battlecreek. Indians had their own name for the area--"Mepha" or "Little Waters." The first settlers built impermanent cabins in a "pleasant grove" of trees. This was a more pleasing name and was adopted for the town.

Situated on the northeastern edges of Utah Valley and Utah Lake and along the western slope of the Wasatch Range at the foot of Mount Timpanogos, the area's gravelly alluvial deposits and sediments from Lake Bonneville are ideal for fruit trees, while the mountains afford protection from late spring frosts. Thus, the higher small-acreage farms of Pleasant Grove became prominent fruit and berry producers. However, with urban growth, now only one large orchard remains in production.

Very little industry developed within the community; most that did was farm related. Sugar beets provided a labor intensive crop for the lower, heavier soils, more suited for potatoes and beets. Many of the area's farmers and laborers worked at the Lehi sugar processing plant and the Pleasant Grove cutting station until these units closed in 1924. In 1915 the Pleasant Grove Cannery was built near the Union Pacific Railroad line; it provided an outlet for row crops, such as peas, green beans, corn, tomatoes, and pumpkins, as well as large fruits. With the development of freezer preservation, the cannery also served a market for fresh-frozen strawberries. From the 1920s through the 1950s, Pleasant Grove was a major strawberry producer, established a mid-June Strawberry Days celebration, and became known as Utah's Strawberry City. The three-day community-sponsored activity features parades, rodeos, carnivals, and sports events, and draws numerous visitors. Although local strawberry fields are now nonexistent, the city proclaims the event as the longest established celebration in Utah.

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