Although he left the Mogollon Rim in a huff, Zane Grey remains a hero in these parts and the people here still embrace his memory. The famed author of western novels once lived in a cabin he had built in the pine forests near Payson.

After Grey abandoned both the cabin and Arizona in the late 1920s, the small structure languished and deteriorated for several years. But then it underwent a resurgence and became a hallowed spot for Zane Grey fans, only to be destroyed by a forest fire at the peak of its popularity. Now there’s a new cabin, a replica of the original. And this one is safe from forest fires and natural erosion became it’s located on some prime real estate next to a lake in the heart of Payson.

Grey first came to Arizona in 1907 as a dentist and a hunter, not a writer. The trip out west inspired him, however, and his account of the episode was published as Last of the Plainsmen in 1908. That was followed in 1910 by The Heritage of the Desert, which became a big success and set the pattern for his future was a novelist. He wrote perhaps his most famous novel, Riders of the Purple Sage, in 1912 and by 1915, Grey had 15 books in print.

His trips to Arizona became more frequent and in 1921, he bought three acres and hired one of hunting buddies, Lee “Babe” Haught, to build the original cabin under the Mogollon Rim near what is now Kohl’s Ranch. He used the cabin as a retreat and writing space until 1929 when he became involved in a dispute with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.  Grey planned to bring a large hunting party to Arizona but found out the dates for that season had been changed. He asked for special treatment but was denied so he left Arizona in a snit, vowing never to return. And he never did.

Grey wrote 57 novels, 28 of them set in Arizona. His books were the basis for about 130 movies and 145 episodes of Zane Grey Theater, a television series. He died in California in 1937 after suffering a massive heart attack.
In the meantime, his onetime place of solitude in the pine forests was gradually returning to the earth until 1962, when Phoenix businessman William Goettl bought the structure and hired Richard Haught, a descendant of the original builder, to restore it. In 1972, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and by 1989, it was attracting an average of 20,000 visitors a year.

But the Dude Fire disaster in 1990 killed six firefighters, blackened thousands of acres of forest and burned the cabin to the ground. A few artifacts were later retrieved and put on display in a couple of local museums, and there was some initial talk about building a new cabin on the original site. But nothing much happened until 2003 when the Zane Grey Cabin Foundation was formed to build a replica on the grounds of the Rim Country Museum in Payson’s Green Valley Park. The foundation raised about $200,000 for the effort, almost half of it from local residents.

Due to building codes and other considerations, the new cabin isn’t an exact replica of the original. “But it’s close, as close as it can be under the circumstances,” said Dick Wolfe, president of the foundation. “And it was a local effort. For example, a woodworking class at Payson High School built all the furniture.”

The cabin has ramps for the physically challenged, a sprinkler system, electrical wiring and the other basics now standard in new construction, but they’re are concealed behind the walls or in a small attic. So there’s still a rustic feel to the place. Some of the bricks in the fireplace are from the original cabin, and the mantel is an exact copy of the one Grey had built. “We worked from photographs,” Wolfe said.

The interior is rather spartan. Grey did most of his writing in longhand, sitting in a straight-back chair while using a lapboard, but he rarely, if ever, slept in the cabin. He preferred to sleep outside in a tent. So today, the cabin’s big room contains a replica of his writing chair, a small cot, table, bear rug, Grey’s saddle, and assorted cowboy boots and hats. A small kitchen is separate from the living area.

The cabin is located at the far west end of Main Street in Payson, on a small hill adjacent to the Rim Country Museum overlooking a manmade lake. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. Admission, also good for entry into the museum, is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for teens. Children under 12 are admitted free. 

For more information, go to www.rimcountrymuseum.org or www.zanegreycabin.org or call 928-474-3483.


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