Lower Paxton Township dates to 1767, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #429 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Lower Paxton Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listing is the Abraham Bomberger Farmhouse. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lower Paxton Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lower Paxton Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #429 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lower Paxton Township’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lower Paxton Township’s 0.9 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1767.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Lower Paxton Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
13cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lower Paxton Township
Blue Ridge Memorial GardensCharlton United Methodist ChurchColonial Park United Church Memorial GardenKoons Memorial ParkLinglestown Church of GodMount MoriahPaxton Church of the BrethrenSaint Andrews in the Valley Church ColumbariumShoop's Cemetery Garden of RestShoopsWenrichsWillow GroveWoodlawn Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Lower Paxton Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lower Paxton Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lower Paxton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Harrisburg sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lower Paxton Township.
The story
How Lower Paxton Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Lower Paxton Township.
In 1729, the Paxtang Township was established within Lancaster County. The spelling "Paxtang" is from the original American Indian name Peshtank, which meant "standing water". Today the word "Paxton" is used instead of Paxtang.
On March 4, 1785, the boundaries of Paxtang Township also became the borders of Dauphin County, split from Lancaster County. "Dauphin" refers to the Dauphin of France, heir apparent to the French throne, whose country the area government wanted to honor for its assistance in the Revolutionary War. About two years later in August 1787 the legislature began to splinter Paxtang Township, first into Upper Paxtang, Middle Paxtang, and Lower Paxtang.
In 1767, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lower Paxton Township’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1930 counted 2,792 people here.
How does Lower Paxton Township rank for history?
Lower Paxton Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #429 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Lower Paxton Township?
One place: the Abraham Bomberger Farmhouse (listed 2026).
How old are the homes in Lower Paxton Township?
6% of Lower Paxton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1980.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
