The area around Utah Lake was used as a seasonal hunting and fishing ground by the Ute Indians.

American Fork was settled in 1850 by Mormon pioneers and incorporated as Lake City in 1852.

In 1853, Daniel H. Wells, the head of the Nauvoo Legion (the Utah Territorial Militia at the time), instructed settlers to move into specific forts.

At a meeting on July 23, 1853, at the schoolhouse in American Fork, Lorenzo Snow and Parley P. Pratt convinced the settlers to follow Wells' directions and all move together into a central fort.

[10] During World War II, the town population expanded when the Columbia Steel plant was built.

An annual summer celebration in the city is still called "Steel Days" in honor of the economic importance of the mill, which closed in November 2001.

[11] The steel mill was located approximately six miles (10 km) southeast of town, on land on the east shore of Utah Lake.

The carnival scene was filmed in American Fork on State Street by Robinson Park.

[13][14][15] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.2 square miles (23.9 km2), all land.

As of 2022, there are seven stakes headquartered in the city as well as Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, which was dedicated in 1996.

In 2012, the FrontRunner commuter rail line began operation in Utah County, opening the American Fork station.

American Fork has an inter-city exchange program with Indio, California, U.S. in a way similar to an international Sister City.