Payson Ranger Station

About forestry service, 85140, San Tan Valley, AZ, US, Arizona

Payson (Navajo: Ndzistsooí) is a town in northern Gila County, Arizona, United States. Due to Payson's location being very near to the geographic center of Arizona, it has been called "The Heart of Arizona." Payson is also considered part of the colloquially defined Northern Arizona region, and the town serves as a gateway to the vast wilderness of the Colorado Plateau. The town is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest, the largest of the six national forests in Arizona—and the ninth largest national forest in the United States. Payson boasts a lively festival calendar, including The World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo, established in 1884, as well as the Arizona State Old Time Fiddlin' Championship which celebrates the area's musical heritage. As of the 2020 census, the population of Payson was 16,361. == History == Prior to the arrival of European-American settlers, the area was known as Te-go-suk—or Place of the Yellow Water—by the Dilzhe'e Apache. The area was also historically inhabited by the Yavapai and other Oasisamerican peoples, including the Hohokam, Mogollon, Salado, and Sinagua cultures. In 1882, considered to be the founding year of Payson, area settlers established a logging, mining, and ranching hamlet called 'Green Valley." That same year, the Battle of Big Dry Wash—fought between troops of the United States Army's 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 6th Cavalry Regiment, and members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe—took place just north of town on the Mogollon Rim. The battle occurred within the greater context of the Apache Wars. On March 3, 1884, a post office was built in Green Valley with the help of Illinois Representative Levi Joseph Payson.