Payson, Arizona Photographs

Anglo settlement in the Payson area began in the 1870s when miners began working in the area. In 1882, local blacksmith James C. Callaghan and local merchant John C. Hise surveyed a townsite and Green Valley, Arizona was established with a population of 42. Charlie Meadows and John Collins Chilson organized Payson's first Rodeo - now advertised as the World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo - in 1884. Hise established a Post Office in Green Valley on March 9, 1884. In honor of Senator Edwin Lewis Payson's assistance in creating the Post Office, the town changed its name from Green Valley to Payson.

Zane Grey made his first visit to Payson in 1918. He returned regularly until 1929, when he arrived with a group from Hollywood to film a documentary about bear hunting. Upon being informed that bear season was over and that the state would not make an exception for him, Grey left and swore never to come back. True to his word, Grey died in California in 1939 without ever visiting Arizona again. He wrote several books about the area, including Arizona Ames, Under the Tonto Rim, and To the Last Man.

In the 1930s, work began to establish a direct and easily navigible route from Payson to Phoenix. The Beeline Highway (State Highway 57) was completed in 1959. Today, Payson's economy is centered around the tourist industry.