One of the richest historical communities in Utah Valley, Lehi straddles Interstate 15 in the north central part of the Valley and is nearly bisected by State Highway 92. "The Pioneer City" was settled by early Mormon colonizers in 1850. The community was originally called Sulphur Springs, then Dry Creek, and eventually Evansville after local Mormon bishop David Evans. Evan's petition to the Territorial Legislature to be incorporated into Utah County was officially granted February 5, 1852. Bishop Evans also request to change the city name to Lehi, after a Book of Mormon patriarch and leader. Evans felt that, "like the Book of Mormon patriarch of the same name, the colonizers of Lehi had been uprooted on numerous occasions before finally settling in their promised land." (Van Wagoner). Lehi became the sixth oldest town in the state. Several well-known and well-preserved historical sites in Lehi include the best-preserved portion of the Pony Express Trail in Utah (at the Point of the Mountain, the division between Salt Lake and Utah Valleys), Indian Ford on the Jordan River, and Dugout, a Pony Express and Overland Trail station located west of town. Seven People's Co-op buildings which were once part of the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, or ZCMI (now owned by conglomerate clothier May Corporation), remain in Lehi. Other important Lehi institutions include Broadbent's (since 1882), the Lehi Free Press (since 1932), Hutch's (since 1946), and the Colonial Manor (the 1913-built Smuin Dancing Academy). Perhaps the best known landmark in Lehi is the Lehi Roller Mills (since 1905), home of the state's best flour and baking goods and the backdrop for Paramount Pictures 1984 film "Footloose," starring Kevin Bacon and John Lithgow. Lehi is also home to Thanksgiving Point, a 40-plus acre dynamic cultural arts and events center. This center includes the American Museum of Ancient Life, world-famous botanical gardens, movie theaters, restaurants, and an award-winning golf course designed by professional golfer Johnny Miller. Lehi's population has nearly tripled over the past 15 years and is home to nearly 20,000 residents (2003 Census). The Lehi Roundup is the community's summer festival. It features a family picnic, western BBQ, parades, and the professional Lehi Round Up Rodeo. (Information courtesy Richard S. Van Wagoner, UVEDA)
