The city held its small farm community flavor--with a dominant Mormon culture and small religious minorities--until after World War II. By the early 1950s, it was becoming a bedroom community for the metropolitan Utah County area. People attracted to rural living started to move to Mapleton and drive to other cities for their jobs. This has exacerbated some local conditions; Mapleton has retained its strong sense of community, but its leaders have felt increasing pressure to modernize as the population continues to grow.

Mapleton's 1990 population is quite cosmopolitan. There are still a number of the people from the old farm families, but they are becoming a minority with less influence on the city's political decisions. A majority of Mapleton's population is still native, with a large sprinkling of transplanted Californians and others adding diversity to the community. The increasing population is still putting extreme pressure on the city to solve its long-standing problems. With its lack of industrial base and extensive program needs, Mapleton is going to face major challenges in the coming years. It will take all the ingenuity of its diversifying population and a large economic effort to keep Mapleton a great place to live, but that challenge will not be new.

Ralph K. Harmer