Payson 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". The town is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest and has many outdoor activities year round. As of the 2020 census, the population of Payson was 15,813.
At 1.6 million acres the Kaibab National Forest borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, in north-central Arizona. It is divided into three major sections: the North Kaibab Ranger District and the South Kaibab and are managed by the United States Forest Service. The South Kaibab is further divided into two districts, the Tusayan Ranger District, and the Williams Ranger District. Grand Canyon National Park separates the North Kaibab and the South Kaibab. The South Kaibab covers 1,422 square miles (3,680 km2) and the North Kaibab stretches over 1,010 square miles (2,600 km2). Elevations vary on the forest from 5,500 feet in the southwest corner to 10,418 feet at the summit of Kendrick Peak on the Williams Ranger District. The forest as a whole is headquartered in Williams.
Chiricahua National Monument is a unit of the National Park System located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. The monument was established on April 18, 1924, to protect its extensive hoodoos and balancing rocks. The Faraway Ranch, which was owned at one time by Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson, is also preserved within the monument.
The Purple Point-Stehekin Ranger Station House is a National Park Service ranger residence located in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area of northern Washington. The building was built at Purple Point above Lake Chelan in the small, unincorporated community of Stehekin, Washington. It was originally constructed by the United States Forest Service to serve as the residence for the Stehekin District ranger. The Forest Service later converted it into a summer guard station. The building was transferred to the National Park Service in 1968 when the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area was established. The Purple Point-Stehekin Ranger Station House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Rosencrans Cabin is part of a small historic district comprising five log buildings on three acres in Bridger-Teton National Forest, just east of Grand Teton National Park. The cabin was used by Rudolph "Rosie" Rosencrans, who played a role in the development of Teton National Forest and who later became a U.S. Forest Service administrator in the early 20th century. Rosencrans was buried at this location.
The Clackamas Lake Ranger Station Historic District is a Forest Service compound consisting of eleven historic buildings located in the Mount Hood National Forest in the Cascade Mountains of northern Oregon. It was originally built as a district ranger station for the Clackamas Lake Ranger District. It was later converted to a summer guard station. Today, the Forest Service rents the historic ranger's residence to recreational visitors. The Clackamas Lake Ranger Station is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Willow Prairie Cabin is a rustic one-room cabin located in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in western Oregon, United States. It was built by a road construction crew in 1924. When the road was finished the United States Forest Service began using it to house fire crews assigned to patrol the surrounding National Forest. The Forest Service now rents the cabin to recreational visitors. The Willow Prairie Cabin is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Allison Guard Station is a Forest Service compound consisting of eight rustic buildings located in the Malheur National Forest in the Ochoco Mountains of eastern Oregon. It was originally built as a district ranger station for the Snow Mountain Ranger District. It was later converted to a summer guard station. Today, it is an active Forest Service guard station with a crew of twelve fire fighters on station during the summer fire season. The station's oldest building, the Donnelly Cabin, is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Allison Ranger Station". Most of the other buildings at the Allison Guard Station are eligible for historic designation, but are not yet listed on the National Register.
The Bly Ranger Station is a United States Forest Service compound that serves as the headquarters for the Bly Ranger District which is an administrative subdivision of the Fremont National Forest. It is located in the small unincorporated community of Bly in southcentral Oregon. The ranger station was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1936 and 1942. Today, the seven original buildings are still used by the Bly Ranger District. The compound was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 1981.
The Big Springs Lookout Tower is a fire lookout tower in Kaibab National Forest near Big Springs, Arizona. The tower was built in 1934 for the U.S. Forest Service by contractors from Kanab, Utah. The steel tower is 100 feet (30 m) tall and features a 7-foot (2.1 m) square cab at the top. A wood-frame cabin is located near the base of the tower; the cabin was built in 1959 to replace an older log cabin.
The Moqui Ranger Station in Kaibab National Forest near Tusayan, Arizona, also known as Tusayan Ranger Station, was built in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 for its architecture, which includes Bungalow architecture, Rustic architecture, vernacular and other styling. It was designed by the USDA Forest Service. The listing includes institutional housing and government office space in six contributing buildings and one other contributing structure over 2 acres (0.81 ha) In addition to CCC labor, workers from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) may have also been involved in the ranger station construction. The station replaced the old Hull Tank Ranger Station.
Architects of the National Park Service are the architects and landscape architects who were employed by the National Park Service (NPS) starting in 1918 to design buildings, structures, roads, trails and other features in the United States National Parks. Many of their works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a number have also been designated as National Historic Landmarks.
The Saint Mary Ranger Station is a ranger station in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. The log cabin was built in 1913 on the east side of the park overlooking Upper Saint Mary Lake. The oldest administrative structures in the park., it features an architecture that foreshadows the National Park Service Rustic style.
The Hull Cabin was built in the late 1880s near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon by settler William Hull. The Hull family arrived in the area in 1880 and established a ranch in the area, raising sheep and building the Hull Tank, a large earth-banked reservoir for their stock. The Hulls branched out into prospecting and were among the first to take in tourists heading to the Grand Canyon.
The Jacob Lake Ranger Station is a historic U.S. Forest Service ranger station in the unincorporated community of Jacob Lake, Arizona, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The Elk Lake Guard Station is a United States Forest Service cabin located in the Deschutes National Forest southwest of Bend, Oregon. The guard station was built in 1929 on the north shore of Elk Lake. It was used as a home base for Forest Service personnel who protected forest resources, maintained facilities, and aided summer visitors in the Cascade Lakes area of Central Oregon. After decades of use, the cabin was renovated in the late 1990s. Today, the historic guard station serves as a Forest Service visitor information center along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. The Elk Lake Guard Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Neil Erickson was a Swedish-born American pioneer in Cochise County, Arizona. He and the members of his family were the founders and operators of Faraway Ranch now in the Faraway Ranch Historic District of the Chiricahua National Monument in the Chiricahua Mountains in southern Arizona.
