Tales From The Fort

Genuinely a pioneer's Pioneer Day was observed in Fort Payson on July 24, 1854. The daylong celebration among early settlers was described under the "Editor News" column for Deseret News readers two days later. “Sir: We had a celebration at this place on the 24th of July,” members of the event's arrangement committee wrote. “The break of day was welcomed by the firing of musketry. At sunrise our Fort was serenaded by Payson musicians.” – PUBLISHED in THE PAYSON CHRONICLE Print Edition: AUG 2, 2023

Payson saluted nostalgia and modernity in unison in 1910. Sixty years after Latter-day Saint settlers arrived at Peteetneet Creek, surviving pioneers took center stage in elaborate community productions observing both its nascent colony past and the city’s place in a changing world. Breed Searle, who can be identified in records and on maps as having held space inside Fort Payson, would not live so long to retell his experiences at jubilee events, but his son John Courtland Searle did. – PUBLISHED in THE PAYSON CHRONICLE Print Edition: APR 12, 2023

As little girls in the Victorian Era, sisters Susanna and Florence Nebeker wanted to reflect the day's rigidly ostentatious attire. The early Payson settlers wished for a hoop skirt to wear, a fad of which their father Henry Nebeker did not approve. His daughters remained committed to the wider fashion ideal. – PUBLISHED in THE PAYSON CHRONICLE Print Edition: NOV 23, 2022 TO PURCHASE PAYSON CHRONICLE EDITIONS Send $2 for each printed publication, plus $4 for shipping, to: The Payson Chronicle 145 East Utah Avenue #5 Payson, UT 84651 Please include a note indicating the edition(s) you wish to purchase, along with your mailing address. DIGITAL (PDF) EDITIONS ARE $2 EACH Please contact us at thepaysonchronicle@msn.com or talesfromthefort@gmail.com for these purchases.

  An Introduction “ We Dispatch From Inside ” Before the city was Payson the town was called Peteetneet. Fortresses built in the city’s central area in the mid-19th century reflect this order. First there was Fort Peteetneet, then it was called Fort Payson. “The fort had a four-foot deep moat at the bottom, a base of rocks and an eight-foot wall of adobe with bastions on the corners,” according to Payson Historical Society accounts. “It was about four city blocks square. The main gate was on the east side. The name of the settlement was changed to Payson in the latter part of 1851." The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' second president, Brigham Young changed the name to honor James Pace, its founder, note the historical society's records. The town and fort’s original name had been given with respect to Chief Peteetneet, leader of the native Timpanogos band who called the region home.  The fort’s walls, which expanded in response to conflict and a growing settle