Star Valley, AZ

Star Valley is a town in northern Gila County, just east of Payson and near the Mogollon Rim. It incorporated in 2005 after years as an unincorporated community, first taking the name Diamond Star before becoming Star Valley. State Route 260 runs through the town toward Payson and Show Low. The valley is shaped by Houston Creek, which descends toward Tonto Creek and the Salt River, while the Tonto National Forest surrounds much of the wider Rim Country.

ATTRRichard N Horne / CC BY-SA 4.0

People have lived in this area for thousands of years, with the region's story including Mogollon, Ancestral Puebloan, Hohokam, and Apache communities. Ranching, mining, and frontier settlement brought new residents in the late nineteenth century. Today, the town's local map includes Town Hall, a community garden, a senior program, a town park, and Payson Unified School District, with Payson High School serving as the zoned high school. Star Valley keeps one foot in the forested mountain country and one on the highway connecting it to Payson.