PRINTER'S NO. 2473
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
517
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY MARSICO, PICKETT, NEILSON, KINSEY, RYAN,
HENNESSEY, HICKERNELL, SACCONE, MACKENZIE, O'NEILL,
J. HARRIS, BOBACK, MURT, DUSH, SONNEY, MILLARD, BIZZARRO,
PASHINSKI, ROTHMAN, BARBIN, CALTAGIRONE, WARD, DiGIROLAMO,
ROZZI, WATSON AND GROVE, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 250th anniversary of the Township of Lower
Paxton, Dauphin County.
WHEREAS, Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, was
originally a part of Lancaster County; and
WHEREAS, The area of Lower Paxton Township was originally
settled by German and Scotch-Irish immigrants during the
colonial period; and
WHEREAS, One of the two prevailing theories on the origin of
the name Paxton is that the name originated from Scottish
Presbyterian settlers and means "Peace Town"; and
WHEREAS, The other prevailing theory on the origin of the
name Paxton is that the name derived from Susquehannock the word
"Peshtank," which means, roughly, "Place where the water stands
still"; and
WHEREAS, Paxton Township was established in 1729; and
WHEREAS, Paxton Township was slowly divided into several
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townships beginning in 1736; and
WHEREAS, Lower Paxton Township was established in 1767; and
WHEREAS, The Town of St. Thomas, a village named after its
founder Thomas Lingle, was established in 1765; and
WHEREAS, Upon the death of Thomas Lingle in 1811, the name of
the Town of St. Thomas was unofficially changed to Linglestown;
and
WHEREAS, The villages of Paxtonia and Colonial Park were
established in the 20th century; and
WHEREAS, Residents played major roles during the French and
Indian War and the Revolutionary War, with Forts Gilchrist,
Patton, Barnett and Berryhill located in Lower Paxton Township;
and
WHEREAS, Linglestown Road became a major road for settlers
traveling to Fort Hunter and other major areas; and
WHEREAS, The Linglestown Church of God was organized in
Linglestown by Reverend John Winebrenner as the first
congregation of this denomination; and
WHEREAS, The Harrisburg Chapter of the Daughters of the
American Revolution erected a tablet on Newside Road in 1924
marking the site of the Newside Church Yard and memorializing
Captain Joseph Sherer, and Reverend John Roan and the pioneers
and men from Lower Paxton Township who served their country; and
WHEREAS, Lower Paxton Township faced a significant
population increase after World War II, with the population
rising from 4,157 in 1940 to more than 47,000 in 2010; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
250th anniversary of Lower Paxton Township.
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