Paxtang

Paxtang grew near a crossing of the Susquehanna River, where trails converged at the Indigenous village of Peshtank. The name has been interpreted as “where the waters stand.” In 1714 the French trader Peter Bisaillon received permission to build at Peshtank or another settlement on the river, as colonial trade and settlement expanded into the valley.

A Presbyterian congregation was organised at Paxtang in 1732, and a stone church followed in 1740. During Pontiac's War, settlers known as the Paxton Boys attacked the Conestoga people in December 1763, killing twenty unarmed men, women and children at their settlement and in Lancaster, where survivors had been placed in protective custody. The following year the group marched toward Philadelphia but dispersed after negotiations with a delegation including Benjamin Franklin.

The later city of Harrisburg lies here.