Middle Paxton Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Dauphin County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 5,054 at the 2020 census.

History

In 1729 Paxtang Township of Lancaster County was established. The spelling "Paxtang" is from the original Indian name ''Peshtank'', which meant "standing water". Today the word "Paxton" is used instead of Paxtang. On March 4, 1785, Lancaster County was split to form Dauphin County, named for the

Dauphin of France Dauphin of France (, also ; ), originally Dauphin of Viennois (''Dauphin de Viennois''), was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word ''dauphin'' is French for dolphin and ...

, 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. The John Ayres House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979.

Geography

Middle Paxton Township is in central and western Dauphin County, bordered to the southwest and west by the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

. The township is in the

Ridge and Valley Province The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands division. The physiographic province is divided into three sec ...

of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

; four parallel mountain ridges cross the township from southwest to northeast. The northern border of the township follows the crest of Peters Mountain. Next to the south is Third Mountain, followed by Second Mountain, which forms part of the southern border of the township, and finally Blue Mountain, which forms the remainder of the southern border. The borough of Dauphin is in the western part of the township on the Susquehanna River, but is a separate municipality. The township has unincorporated communities, including Ellendale Forge, Fort Hunter, Heckton and Singersville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 8.01%, is water. Nearly all of the water surface area is part of the Susquehanna River.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 4,823 people, 1,906 households, and 1,456 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,988 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.01%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.27%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.17% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.48% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population. There were 1,906 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.88. In the township the population was spread out, with 22.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 32.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $54,619, and the median income for a family was $59,007. Males had a median income of $41,037 versus $30,233 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $28,146. About 4.2% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Children in the township attend public school at the Central Dauphin School District.

References

External links

Middle Paxton Township official website
{{authority control Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area Townships in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania