Payson, Arizona Payson, Arizona Green Valley Park in Payson Green Valley Park in Payson Location in Gila County and the state of Arizona Location in Gila County and the state of Arizona Payson, Arizona is positioned in the US Payson, Arizona - Payson, Arizona Payson is a town in northern Gila County, Arizona, United States.
Payson has been called "The Heart of Arizona".
As of the 2010 census, the populace of Payson was 15,301. Payson considers its beginning year as 1882, at which time it was known as "Green Valley".
Payson.
In honor of Representative Payson's help, the town's name was changed to "Payson".
Payson had its first rodeo in 1884.
Payson considers its rodeo the "world's earliest continuous", as it has been held every year since.
In 1918 author Zane Grey made his first trip to the region surrounding Payson.
Grey wrote various books about the region and also filmed some movies, such as To the Last Man, in the Payson region in the 1920s.
During the 1930s an accomplishment began to try to get Payson a better road to connect it to the outside world.
At that time Payson was very isolated, with a trip from Phoenix to Payson taking eight to twelve hours.
Throughout the 1950s work on a paved road from Phoenix to Payson progressed, and the paving was instead of in 1958.
Located in northern Gila County at 34 14 22 N 111 19 39 W (34.239462, -111.327456), at an altitude of 5,000 feet (1,500 m), the town has a total region of 19.5 square miles (51 km2). The Mogollon Rim, the southern boundary of the Colorado Plateau, lies to the north of Payson, with elevations exceeding 7,500 feet (2,300 m); there are many cold water lakes on top of the rim.
Payson is bordered to the east by the town of Star Valley.
Globe, the Gila County seat, is 80 miles (130 km) to the south via State Routes 87 and 188.
State Route 260 leads east from Payson 90 miles (140 km) to Show Low.
Down the Street Art Gallery on Main Street in Payson "Zane Grey Country" is a term for the region around Payson.
This term was most often used in the 1970s and 1980s, and appeared in the header of the small-town newspaper, the Payson Roundup.
Owing to its altitude of almost 5,000 feet (1,500 m), Payson has what is classified as a Mediterranean climate (Koppen Csa), though atypical for this climate with its early-summer drought and late-summer rainfall.
Whilst average temperatures do reach the high 80s to mid 90s in summer, the town's altitude usually keeps it protected from the 100 F (37.8 C)+ temperatures usually found at Arizona's lower elevations.
The weather in Payson is as varied as the landscape, and a snowstorm is often followed by weather so warm that any accumulation melts away inside a day or two.
On Monday, November 5, 2001, between about 8pm and 10:30pm, Payson was treated to a rare display of the Northern Lights.
It is extremely rare and only happens amid solar flares because Payson is so far south.
Climate data for Payson, Arizona Average snowy days ( 0.1 inch) 1.7 1.3 1.7 0.7 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.7 1.2 7.4 Looking North on Highway 87 in Payson amid snowfall.
Ninety-seven percent of the territory around Payson is under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service (Payson is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest) or by tribal governments.
Tonto Natural Bridge, the biggest known travertine natural bridge in the world, is positioned just northwest of Payson in Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, a unit of the Arizona State Park system.
The Payson region is a prominent destination for rockhounds.
Fossils are generally found in the Paleozoic strata that is exposed along the Mogollon Rim to the north and west of Payson along State Route 87 and State Route 260.
Payson is known for its rodeo which is the earliest continuous rodeo in the world. Payson has two parks, Green Valley Park and Rumsey Park.
Payson also has two lakes which are part of the Urban Fish Program.
Payson also has a small skatepark.
Payson is the site of the annual Arizona State Championship Old Time Fiddlers Contest, held in September.
Payson is also home of two rodeos.
In August, the historic August Doin's Rodeo (1884) takes place making Payson, Arizona the "Home of the World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo." Prescott, Arizona is known as hosting the "World's Oldest Rodeo" (1888) but took a hiatus amid World War II.
The town is served by the Payson Unified School District. In 2010, the Governor of Arizona appointed the Payson Police Department Executive Director, Detective Matt Van Camp, as state coordinator for the Department of Defense reutilization program of military excess equipment, also known as 1033 program.
"Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Payson town, Arizona".
Payson Roundup, December 4, 2002 "PAYSON, AZ" (PDF).
Payson Unified School District https://pusd.k12.az.us/ Town of Payson official website Payson Roundup, small-town journal Payson visitors' site Municipalities and communities of Gila County, Arizona, United States Populated places of the Mogollon Rim - Micropolitan areas of Arizona - Towns in Gila County, Arizona - Towns in Arizona - Populated places established in 1882 - 1882 establishments in Arizona Territory
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