Editing Paxtang, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Borough in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Paxtang, Pennsylvania
|other_name = 
|native_name = 
|nickname = 
|motto = 
<!-- images and maps ----------->
|image_skyline =File:Paxtang Church Dauphin Co PA.JPG
|imagesize = 
|image_caption = Paxton Presbyterian Church
|image_flag = 
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|image_map = Dauphin County Pennsylvania incorporated and unincorporated areas Paxtang highlighted.svg
|mapsize = 260px
|map_caption = Location in [[Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin County]] and the U.S. state of [[Pennsylvania]].
|pushpin_map            = Pennsylvania#USA
|pushpin_label = Paxtang
|pushpin_map_caption    = Location in Pennsylvania and the United States
|pushpin_label_position = 
|settlement_type = [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|Borough]]
<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Pennsylvania]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Pennsylvania|County]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin]]
|government_footnotes = 
|government_type = Borough Council
|leader_title = Mayor
|leader_name = 
|leader_title1 = 
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|leader_title2 = 
|leader_name2 = 
|leader_title3 = 
|leader_name3 = 
|leader_title4 = 
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|established_title = Settled
|established_date = 1722
|established_title1 = Incorporated
|established_date1 = 1914
|area_magnitude = 
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='42'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
|area_total_km2 = 1.05
|area_land_km2 = 1.05
|area_water_km2 = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi = 0.41
|area_land_sq_mi = 0.41
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.00
|area_water_percent = 
|population_as_of = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
|population_note = 
|population_total = 1648
|population_density_km2 = 1567.86
|population_density_sq_mi = 4059.11
|timezone = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset = -5
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = -4
|coordinates   = {{coord|40|15|39|N|76|50|02|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes = 
|elevation_m = 
|elevation_ft = 371
|postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code = 17111
|area_code = [[Area code 717|717]]
|website = {{URL|www.paxtang.org}}
|footnotes = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
|blank_info = 42-58504
}}
'''Paxtang''' is a [[borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] in [[Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin County]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States. As of the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]] it had a population of 1,640.<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021">{{cite web |title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=13 July 2022}}</ref> The borough is a [[suburb]] of [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] and is one of the earliest [[Colonial America|colonial]] [[Village|settlements]] in [[South Central Pennsylvania]].

==History==
Paxtang dates to the 18th century when [[Euro-Americans]] settled at the site of the Shawnee-Lenape village of Peshtank. The [[Lenape]] called the village ''Peshtank'' meaning "where the waters stand" which in English became Paxtang or Paxton. Several important trails and routes developed in the area as the Susquehanna River was easily forded here, making Paxtang an ideal location for the movement of people and trade goods across the river.<ref name="Kenny">{{cite book |last1=Kenny |first1=Kevin |title=Peaceable Kingdom Lost: The Paxton Boys and the Destruction of William Penn's Holy Experiment |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780199753949 |url=https://archive.org/details/peaceablekingdom0000kenn |url-access=registration}}</ref>

In 1700, [[William Penn]], founder of the [[Province of Pennsylvania]], obtained from the [[Susquehannock]] a deed for their lands in the Susquehanna Valley. This was confirmed by treaty in 1701.<ref name="Kent">{{cite book |last1=Kent |first1=Barry C. |title=Susquehanna's Indians |date=1984 |publisher=Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |url=https://archive.org/details/susquehannasindi0000kent |url-access=registration}}</ref> In October 1714, French fur trader [[Peter Bisaillon]] was granted 250 acres of land "at Peshtang or any other Indian Town or Place on Sasquehannah within this Province," with permission to build any necessary buildings "during his Trade there or till further."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hanna |first1=Charles Augustus |title=The Wilderness Trail, or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path |date=1911 |volume=1 |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/wildernesstrailo01hann}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Catalogue Three Hundred Ten: American Manuscript Archives, Journals & Narratives |publisher=William Reese Company |location=New Haven, Connecticut |url=https://www.williamreesecompany.com/images/upload/cat473_2.pdf}}</ref>

Paxtang is the site where Presbyterian [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish]] frontiersmen organized the [[Paxton Boys]], a [[vigilante]] group that murdered twenty Susquehannock in the [[Conestoga Massacre]]. On December 14, 1763, more than 50 Paxton Boys rode to the settlement near [[Millersville, Pennsylvania]], murdered six, and burned their cabins. Pennsylvania authorities placed the remaining fourteen Susquehannock in protective custody in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]], but the Paxton Boys broke in and slaughtered all fourteen on December 27, 1763.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brubaker |first1=Jack |title=Massacre of the Conestogas: On the Trail of the Paxton Boys in Lancaster County |date=2010 |publisher=History Press |location=Charleston, South Carolina |isbn=9781614232759}}</ref> A month earlier, 140 [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] Lenape and [[Mohican]] living peacefully in eastern Pennsylvania had been moved to [[Philadelphia]] for their protection. The Paxton Boys marched on Philadelphia in February 1764 with a few hundred followers, however, dispersed after meeting with a delegation headed by Benjamin Franklin.<ref name="Kenny" />

===Old Paxton Church===
Paxtang is home to the Old Paxton Church, one of the earliest in the area. Built in 1740, the church is the oldest [[Presbyterian Church]] building in continuous use in Pennsylvania, and the second oldest in the United States. In 1726, the Rev. James Anderson of [[East Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Donegal, Pennsylvania]], became the first regular preacher. The history of the church is interwoven with the history of central colonial Pennsylvania.

In 1732, the congregation was officially organized as a Presbyterian Church by the Presbytery of Donegal, with the Rev. William Bertram as the first installed pastor. The Rev. [[John Elder (pastor)|John Elder]], the "Fighting Parson," became pastor in 1738. He was pastor during the [[French and Indian War]] and [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], and served as a commissioned officer. Many of the church's pastors have served long pastorates; the terms of four of its ministers total 140 years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glise |first1=Morton Graham |title=History of Paxton Presbyterian Church, 1732-1976 |date=1976 |publisher=Paxton Presbyterian Church |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania}}</ref>

The present stone sanctuary was erected in 1740, replacing a log meeting house which had previously served as the place of worship. A stone marker south of the sanctuary indicates the site of the log building. A replica of the log meeting house was erected north of the present sanctuary.

Adjacent to the church is a historic cemetery. Here lie the bodies of soldiers of the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], and both World Wars. People who molded the early religious and political character of America are buried here, including John Harris Jr., [[William Maclay (Pennsylvania senator)|William Maclay]] (the first United States senator from Pennsylvania), and four of the six commissioners who planned the town of Harrisburg with him in 1785. Ministers, legislators, farmers, teachers, men of affairs, and enslaved African Americans are buried here.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1978 |title=Paxton Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23328081 |journal=Journal of Presbyterian History |volume=56 |issue=3 |page=201 |issn=0022-3883}}</ref>

==Geography==
Paxtang is located in southern Dauphin County at {{coord|40|15|39|N|76|50|2|W|type:city}} (40.260760, -76.833782).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It is bordered to the west by the city of [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the borough has a total area of {{convert|1.05|sqkm|order=flip}}, all  land.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4258504| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Paxtang borough, Pennsylvania| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=December 16, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213064833/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4258504| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Paxtang Park]] is located along the city boundary with Harrisburg and is a [[trailhead]] for the [[Capital Area Greenbelt]].

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1920= 822
|1930= 1594
|1940= 1707
|1950= 1857
|1960= 1916
|1970= 2039
|1980= 1649
|1990= 1599
|2000= 1570
|2010= 1561
|2020= 1640
|estyear=2021
|estimate=1636
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
|footnote=Sources:<ref name="USDecennialCensus">{{cite web|title=Census of Population and Housing|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=11 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref><ref name=CensusPopEst>{{cite web|title=Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|work=Population Estimates|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=11 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|archive-date=June 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:42&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=Oct 12, 2022}}</ref>
}}
As of the 2010 census, there were 1,561 people, 660 households, and 415 families living in the borough. The population density was {{convert|3,732.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 698 housing units at an average density of 1,668.8 units per square mile (644.3/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the borough was 79% White (75.4% [[Non-Hispanic Whites|Non-Hispanic White]]), 10.6% Black or [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 9.1% [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino]] (5.6% [[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]]), 1.9% [[Asian ethnicity|Asian]], 3.8% from other races, and 4.5% from [[Multiracial American|two or more races (Multiracial)]].

Of the 660 households, 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.94.

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,570 people, 670 households, and 438 families living in the borough. The population density was {{convert|3,753.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 703 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,680.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the borough was 88.54% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 6.37% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.13% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.53% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.66% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.78% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 4.01% of the population.

There were 670 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the borough, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $46,250, and the median income for a family was $54,412. Males had a median income of $36,389 versus $29,712 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the borough was $23,217. About 3.4% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
{{Further|Central Dauphin School District}}
Children in the borough attend public school in the [[Central Dauphin School District]].

==See also==
* [[Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Glimpses of the history of old Paxtang Church|first=William Henry|last=Egle|publisher=Harrisburg Publishing Company|year=1890|url=https://archive.org/details/glimpsesofhistor00egle}}

==External links==
*[http://www.paxtang.org Borough of Paxtang official website]
*{{HABS |survey=PA-31 |id=pa0401 |title=Paxton Presbyterian Church, Sharon Street, Paxtang, Dauphin County, PA |photos=4 |dwgs=9 |data=1}}

{{Dauphin County, Pennsylvania}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places established in 1722]]
[[Category:Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area]]
[[Category:Boroughs in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1722 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1914 establishments in Pennsylvania]]