Editing Linglestown, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
In 1765, Thomas Lingle purchased a parcel of land in what was then Paxton Township, so as to develop a 90-plot living, working, and studying community for newly-arriving European settlers. He called his new settlement "The Town of St. Thomas", after [[Thomas the Apostle|the Christian apostle]], his namesake.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Morning's Comment |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/738005/altoona-tribune/ |work=Altoona Tribune |date=11 September 1940 |pages=4|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{free access}}</ref> The sheepskin document on which Lingle drew the plan for his village still exists, showing in great detail the village's name, each of the plots, their plot numbers, and all street and alley names. The county deed recorder's seal and record information are visible on the bottom left corner of the document.

In 1811, Lingle died and was buried in the Wenrich's Church cemetery (now St. Thomas United Church of Christ), at the east end of the village. Soon thereafter, village and area residents began calling his village "Lingle's town", and the name soon took on its current form.

As a busy crossroads community located at the base of the mountain, the village soon became the area center for commerce, civic, religious, and educational activities, much of which still exists today.

St. Thomas UCC is the village's oldest denomination. The Church of God denomination<!--Which one? There are dozens of "Church of God" denominations.--> had its world beginning and first structure and cemetery in Linglestown.<ref>Lower Paxton Township Bicentennial 1767-1967, 1967, Triangle Press Harrisburg, PA</ref>

===Linglestown Square renovation===
Since 1996, the village has been considering making improvements to the village square. At the center of the square is a flag pole located in the middle of the road. The initial plan was to move the flag pole and insert a traffic light. After long debate, that idea was shot down. It was replaced by the "Linglestown Plan", proposed on March&nbsp;31, 2000. Nearly seven years later, on February&nbsp;20, 2007, Lower Paxton Township approved a modified version of the Linglestown Action Plan, which involves the addition of roundabouts, other approaches to slowing down traffic through the square, and general community improvement.<ref>{{cite web| title=Village of Linglestown Action Plan |publisher=Village of Linglestown Committee |url=http://www.lowerpaxton-pa.gov/linglestown/action_plan.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215044916/http://www.lowerpaxton-pa.gov/linglestown/action_plan.pdf |archive-date=February 15, 2006 |date=March 31, 2000 |access-date=May 3, 2009}}</ref> On September 11, 2009, [[PennDOT]] awarded a construction bid for the project to E. Wintermyer Co. of [[Etters, Pennsylvania|Etters]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bid awarded for Linglestown square project |publisher=Linglestown Gazette |url=http://linglestownpa.blogspot.com/2009/09/bid-awarded-for-linglestown-square.html |date=September 11, 2009 |access-date=September 18, 2009}}</ref>

While the road construction was intended not only to relieve traffic but also promote an aesthetic aspect in order to draw in business for Linglestown merchants, many of those merchants faced the brink of closing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc27.com/story/12888383/merchants-road-construction-is-hurting-business |title=Merchants: Road Construction is Hurting Business - abc27 WHTM |access-date=2014-07-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808063503/http://www.abc27.com/story/12888383/merchants-road-construction-is-hurting-business |archive-date=2014-08-08 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 Aug 2010 |title=2-way traffic to resume in Linglestown sooner than expected |url=http://abc27.com/2010/08/21/2-way-traffic-to-resume-in-linglestown-sooner-than-expected/ |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601145215/http://abc27.com/2010/08/21/2-way-traffic-to-resume-in-linglestown-sooner-than-expected/ |archive-date=2015-06-01 |access-date=20 Jun 2023 |website=ABC27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/06/linglestown_road_constructon_p.html|title = Linglestown Road construction project could be completed early|date = 3 June 2010}}</ref> The plan intended to address the issues with congestion and rush hour traffic, as well as safety concerns.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Henry |first=Justin |date=April 21, 2020 |title=Dauphin County drafts plan to reduce congestion on Linglestown, Laudermilch roads |journal=Central Penn Business Journal |volume=12 |issue=36 |via=ProQuest}}</ref> In June 2010, the project entered its final phase. The roadways in the roundabouts were opened to two-way traffic,<ref>{{cite news |last=Hessen |first=Beth Anne |title=Roundabouts confuse drivers on Linglestown Road |work=[[The Patriot-News]] |date=June 20, 2011 |url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/06/roundabouts_confuse_drivers_on.html |access-date=July 4, 2011}}</ref> with the remainder of the road closed to two-way traffic until November 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brenckle |first=Lara |title=Two-way traffic restored along Linglestown Road in Lower Paxton Township |work=[[The Patriot-News]] |date=23 November 2010 |url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/two-way_traffic_restored_along.html |access-date=1 July 2013 }}</ref>