The Payson Presbyterian Church at 160 S. Main in Payson, Utah was built in 1882. It has also been known as Payson Bible Church. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1986; the listing included two contributing buildings.

According to its NRHP nomination, it is “one of a number of Protestant churches constructed in Utah during the 1870s-90s, the period of most concentrated and active missionary work by Protestants among the Mormons.”

It is also a contributing building in the Payson Historic District, which was listed on the National Register in 2007.

Here is the NRHP listing text:
The Payson Presbyterian Church, constructed in 1882, is a one-story Gothic Revival brick building with a rectangular plan and a steeply pitched gable roof with a bell tower. Despite a few minor alterations, the building retains its historical integrity.

Evidence of the building’s Gothic Revival style is found in the use of pointed arches over the windows and door and in the decorative bargeboards on the gable end of the façade. Also located on the front gable are a circular window and a decorative corbeled brick belt course which arches over the window and door openings. All elevations of the building are symmetrically composed, with four evenly spaced windows on each side and a central doorway flanked by two windows on the façade. The bell tower, located at the peak of the front gable, is an original feature. The building rests on a stone foundation.

Alterations made to the church over the years are minor and do not significantly affect the building’s integrity. The most noticeable change is the small one-story frame addition on the rear which was built sometime after 1930. The front doorway has been altered slightly by the replacement of the original door with the existing modern one (n.d.) and by the removal of what was probably a window or transom above that door; the opening itself has not been altered, however. The only alteration of note on the interior is the
addition of a small, enclosed entrance vestibule.

There is one other building located on the property, a one-story brick “education building” situated just south of the church building. Since it was built in the 1970s it does not contribute to the significance of this property.

Built in 1882, the Payson Presbyterian Church is historically significant as one of approximately ten remaining Presbyterian churches built in Utah as part of the church’s missionary program among the Mormons during the late nineteenth century. The Payson Presbyterian Church, which was the first Protestant church built in Payson, served for over 25 years as both a school and church, making it one of the longest-lived of the approximately 20 church/schools operated by the Presbyterians. The Presbyterian Church was one of several Protestant denominations which operated day schools as an important part of their missionary work among the Mormons in Utah. Though those facilities were not successful at winning converts, they were effective in providing some of the highest quality education available in Utah prior to the
establishment of a publicly funded school system in the 1890s. The Payson Presbyterian Church is also architecturally significant as one of the best examples, if not the only example, of the Gothic Revival style in Payson.

Though an architectural survey of Payson has not yet been completed, it is known that there are relatively few examples of the Gothic Revival style in the community. The Gothic Revival style was a popular choice for small Protestant churches throughout the state, though it was not common for Mormon churches built during the same period.