A Historic Resource Survey of Payson, Arizona

Ryden Architects

From introduction: "Modern-day residents of the historic settlement of Payson, Arizona have become aware of the historic resources existing at the core of the modern town. In order for the townspeople to more fully appreciate and understand the significance and extent of their historic resources, the Town has commissioned this comprehensive survey of the Town of Payson. The central objective of this report is to identify, document, and evaluate the historic resources within a defined survey area within the incorporated limits of the Town of Payson. The historical information and building documentation generated for the report may be used in several ways by the Town, as they deem appropriate. The following are among the possible uses: To nominate historic districts or individual properties to the National Register of Historic Places; To use as the basis for creating a local preservation ordinance; To interest residents and tourists in the history of Payson; and To encourage proper rehabilitation of properties based on this historical research. The project team used a coordinated interdisciplinary approach to completing the survey. The phases 1. Introduction, 2. Interpretation, 3. Processing, 4. Interpretation, and 5. Presentation. These phases were conducted as follows. The Introduction phase provided an orientation for all those who were to participate in the work on the project. The consultant team met with Town officials to discuss the project objectives and schedule and to become familiar with the history and geography of the Town. Base maps and aerial photographs were obtained from the Town, and an inventory index number system was established to uniquely identify each property. A field reconnaissance was made to gain additional familiarity with the Town's landmarks and overall relationships as well as determine appropriate field survey approaches; This reconnaissance also helped to refine the initial survey boundaries established by the Town in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office. In particular, the boundary at the north-center of the original survey was contracted to eliminate from the survey area an area with no historic resources. Conversely, additional survey area was added along Frontier Street to the East, a number of resources having been found along this route. The nearby site of Fort McDonald was examined and found not to have extant historic resources. It was therefore deleted from the survey. Sites of two historic barns were examined, one north and one south of the survey area. It was determined to include them within the scope of the survey. Plat maps and aerial photos were then gathered and the survey area was further defined by property boundaries. Properties were then given inventory index numbers, based upon arbitrarily-assigned block numbers and parcel numbers." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Town of Payson administered by the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

A Historic Resource Survey of Payson, Arizona

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