Our Pioneers

Payson has worn three names. The creek it sits on was called Peteetneet, for a Ute leader of that name, and when James Pace, John Searle, and Andrew Stewart brought their families here on October 20, 1850, the new settlement took the creek's name too. Peteetneet proved a mouthful for the settlers, who reshaped it into 'Pacen' — a nod to James Pace — and then softened that into 'Payson,' the name that stuck. The Ute leader is remembered now mostly in the creek and in Peteetneet, the old schoolhouse that still bears his name.

What the plaque says

Payson was settled Oct. 20, 1850, when a group of Mormons consisting of James Pace, John C. Searle, Andrew J. Stewart with their families, and two boys, Allison Hill and Nathaniel Haws, arrived at the northwestern extremity of the city. The creek on which Payson is located, derives its name from an Indian Chief Peteetneet, for whom the town was first named, later changed to "Pacen" in honor of James Pace, hence "Payson". This cabin built in 1863, on the outskirts of Payson by Everett Richmond, English emigrant.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Payson Lakes — 9.7 mi
  Three alpine lakes in the pines, twelve miles up Payson Canyon
• Thistle Landslide — 13 mi
  The ruins of a town destroyed by a massive landslide in 1983
• Nebo Loop Summit — 13 mi
  The byway's 9,300-foot high point, with Utah Valley spread out below
• Mount Nebo — 15 mi
  At 11,928 feet, the highest and southernmost peak in the Wasatch Range

More markers nearby

• Payson's Pioneer Industries — 0.5 mi
• Keele Monument — 0.5 mi
• Payson City Hall — 0.5 mi
• The Walker War — 0.7 mi