American Fork's first newspaper, the Weekly Gazette, began in 1868. Interestingly, it was a pen-and-ink manuscript and included items like original poetry, essays, and wit and humor. It was short-lived, folding after only 12 issues. The American Fork Independent came along in March 1890 and provided coverage of Utah's mining industry for two years. Several other newspapers came and went until the Citizen appeared on May 27, 1903. The newspaper provided a mixture of local and national news along with light-hearted material. In the summer of 1906, the Citizen included coverage of a visit by President Teddy Roosevelt to the Panama Canal Zone; a how-to-guide on dry farming, and the following: "Four [young girls] surrounded a big black snake the other day and stabbed it to death with hatpins. Oh that Mother Eve had been so courageous—and had possessed a hatpin!" Read more.

We extend our thanks to the city of American Fork, the Bank of American Fork, Dale W. Adams and many other individuals for their generous donations; to Daniel K. Adams of the American Fork Historic Preservation Commission for spearheading the project; to the Daily Herald; and to the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University for the loan of microfilm for scanning.