Payson, Illinois

City: Payson

County: Adams

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 39.8167, -91.2333

Located in west-central Illinois, twelve miles southeast of Quincy, Payson first attracted white settlers in 1833. The village was laid out in 1835, and settlers established the first businesses and churches in 1835 and 1836. Sale of town lots began in August 1836. The village received a post office in March 1837. Payson became a town in 1850.

James N. Adams, comp., Illinois Place Names (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society, 1989), 469; Frank R. Abate, ed., American Places Dictionary (Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1994), 2:9; The History of Adams County, Illinois (Chicago: Murray, Williamson & Phelps, 1879), 551-52.