Payson City Hall

Payson incorporated in 1852 under a mayor named David Crockett — not the frontiersman, just a settler who shared the name. In 1870 the town raised its first brick building as a city hall, and like many frontier halls it did everything at once: city offices, the town's first high school, and a recreation center under one roof. A belfry went up later, and its bell called children to school. It had a sterner duty too. Each night at nine the city marshal rang it as a curfew, ordering every child under twelve off the streets and home.

What the plaque says

Payson, first settled in 1850, was incorporated January 21, 1852 with David Crockett as mayor. In 1870, during the administration of Mayor Orrawell Simons 1866-75, a City Hall, Payson's first brick building, was erected 377 feet west and 14 feet south of this marker. This two-story building served for city offices, the first High School, and as a recreational center. Later a belfry was added enclosing a bell which summoned children to school. At 9 p.m. it was rung by the city marshal as a curfew for children under twelve years of age.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Payson Lakes — 9.4 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 — steps away
• Keele Monument — steps away
• Our Pioneers — 0.5 mi
• The Walker War — 0.5 mi