Place · United States
The history of Lehi, one place at a time
Assembled from 5 dug tiles · 47 sourced records · last reviewed 12 September 2026
Lehi, Utah, took shape after the March 1849 killings of Timpanogos men at Battle Creek, an event that led American Fork to wall itself in fear of reprisal and that shadows ground later given over to farmland, subdivisions and, in 2016, Skyridge High School.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Lehi — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Lehi
The falcons have no history yetSkyridge High School opened its doors in 2016, a half-mile walk from where you are standing. American Fork-Pleasant Grove
1849–2024 The falcon on empty ground
A bond passed in 2011, ground broke in 2014, and a school called Skyridge went up where there had been nothing. American Fork-Pleasant Grove
1849–2021 A bond built the school, the town supplies the names
A quarter mile from here, [[Skyridge High School American Fork-Pleasant Grove
1849–now A school with no past to tell
A 2011 bond, a 2014 groundbreaking, and a building with no history yet, a quarter mile from this point. Highland
1972–now The house that has no story to tell
A residential lot in Highland, Utah, where the record is quiet and the ground has nothing yet to say. Highland
1972–2024
Lehi in layers
March 5, 1849
In March 1849, a Mormon militia of about 35 men, acting on orders from Brigham Young, pursued and killed four Timpanogos Ute men at Battle Creek Canyon a couple of miles south, over accusations of cattle theft. Utah Historical Markers (Battle Creek); Wikipedia (Battle Creek massacre)
1849–1850
The nearby settlement, first called Battle Creek after the 1849 killings, was renamed Pleasant Grove for its cottonwood trees; the Timpanogos had called the area Mepha, or Little Waters. Pleasant Grove City official history; Utah History Encyclopedia
1849–1853
After the Battle Creek killings, settlers at American Fork built a 12-foot defensive wall around the township on orders from General Daniel H. Wells, fearing retaliation from the Timpanogos. Intermountain Histories; Utah History to Go; Daughters of Utah Pioneers plaque, William S. Robinson Park
March 5, 1849
About eight kilometers northwest, thirty-five militiamen ordered by Brigham Young attacked a Timpanogos group at Battle Creek in March 1849, killing at least four people, and the nearby settlement first took the name Battle Creek before it was renamed Pleasant Grove. Wikipedia, Battle Creek massacre
Battle Creek Canyon near Pleasant Grove
On March 5, 1849, thirty-five Mormon militiamen under General Daniel H. Wells killed several Timpanogos Ute people in Battle Creek Canyon, about two miles northeast of here. Wikipedia: Battle Creek massacre; Intermountain Histories; UEN Utah History Encyclopedia
Battle Creek Canyon near Pleasant Grove
A Timpanogos boy taken during the Battle Creek attack is said to have grown into Antonga Black Hawk, the war chief who later led Ute forces against Utah settlers. Wikipedia: Battle Creek massacre; UEN Utah History Encyclopedia
American Fork settlement
After the massacre, General Daniel H. Wells ordered American Fork's families to each build a stretch of a twelve-foot defensive wall around the settlement, and the wall never came together evenly or to full spec. Intermountain Histories; UEN Utah History Encyclopedia
February 8–17, 1850
Less than a year later, Mormon militia attacked a Timpanogos encampment at Fort Utah on the Provo River, killing an estimated 40 to 100 people in retaliation for reported livestock theft. Wikipedia (Battle at Fort Utah); Utah Historical Markers
1852
Abel John Evans, an American politician, was born in Lehi in 1852 and died in 1939. Wikidata
American Fork settlement
In 1853, with Parley P. Pratt and Lorenzo Snow present at a schoolhouse meeting, American Fork's settlers agreed on the spot to build a fort roughly 1,320 by 1,220 feet, and moved their log cabins inside its walls. UEN Utah History Encyclopedia; Provo.com history article
1860
James Taylor Harwood, later a noted etcher and painter, was born in Lehi in 1860. Wikipedia
1860
Edwin Evans, who went on to teach and paint landscapes across the American West, was born in Lehi in 1860. Wikipedia
Lehi
James Taylor Harwood and Edwin Evans, both born in Lehi in 1860, went on to become leading Utah landscape painters and teachers. Wikidata: James Taylor Harwood; Edwin Evans (artist)
Utah County region
Between 1865 and 1872, Ute forces under Antonga Black Hawk fought settlers across central Utah in a war rooted in Ute grievances over stolen land and hunger, killing about seventy-five Mormon settlers territory-wide alongside unrecorded Native losses. Wikipedia: Black Hawk War (1865–1872); Utah Historical Markers
1880
Oscar A. Kirkham, a General Authority Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born in Lehi in 1880 and died in 1958. Wikidata
1891
J. Leslie Broadbent, an American Mormon leader, was born in Lehi in 1891 and died in 1935. Wikidata
Lehi
J. Leslie Broadbent, born in Lehi in 1891, became a Mormon leader before his death in 1935. Wikidata: J. Leslie Broadbent
Lehi
American distance runner Paul Cummings, born in 1953, died in Lehi in 2001. Wikidata: Paul Cummings
1972
The single-family house on this parcel at 2782 N 1200 East was built in 1972 on a three-acre lot, according to Utah County land records. Utah County Land Records
1972
The single-family home at 2782 N 1200 E was built in 1972 on a lot of just over three acres. Utah County Land Records
1997
Jeffrey C. and Judith B. Goodwin deeded the property to Sandee Marie Trepanier in 1997. Utah County Land Records
August 26, 1997
In 1997 Jeffrey and Judith Goodwin conveyed the parcel to Sandee Marie Trepanier. Utah County Land Records
2001
Ivory Homes Ltd took title from James W. and Peggy P. Cunningham and then transferred it to Nadine W. and Bonnie P. Evans, both in 2001. Utah County Land Records
2006
Hanover Real Estate Holdings LLC deeded the parcel to Richard and Cecil Heftel in 2006. Utah County Land Records
Questions about Lehi
What is Lehi known for historically?
Lehi lies near Battle Creek Canyon, where Mormon militia killed at least four Timpanogos Ute men in March 1849, an event that gave the region its first name and left nearby American Fork walled in fear of reprisal. The town also produced painters James Taylor Harwood and Edwin Evans, both born there in 1860.
What happened at Lehi in 1849?
In March 1849, militia ordered by Brigham Young attacked a Timpanogos group at Battle Creek, killing at least four people. A larger massacre followed at Fort Utah in February 1850, and American Fork built a 12-foot wall around itself between 1849 and 1853 out of fear of reprisal.
What was built on the ground near Skyridge High School?
Skyridge High School opened in August 2016, two years after a 2014 groundbreaking that followed a 2011 bond vote by Alpine School District. It sits on land that carried no earlier settlement story of its own, though Battle Creek Canyon lies two miles away.
Who were notable people born in Lehi?
Lehi was the birthplace of landscape painters James Taylor Harwood and Edwin Evans, both born in 1860, as well as Mormon leader J. Leslie Broadbent (1891), politician Abel John Evans (1852), and LDS Church leader Oscar A. Kirkham (1880).
What happened to the houses recorded near Lehi and Highland?
One house at 3271 N 280 West was built in 2016 by Perry Homes on a platted subdivision lot and later passed through a lender's claim before returning to its owners. A separate house in Highland, built in 1972, changed hands several times, including a spell with Ivory Homes and a 2021 sale to the Vukich family.
Were there later conflicts in the region after 1849?
Yes. The Black Hawk War, from 1865 to 1872, brought years of raids to the Utah Valley region following the earlier violence at Battle Creek and Fort Utah.