Paxtonville, Pennsylvania
Census-designated place in the United States in Snyder County · Not an incorporated municipality
About Paxtonville
Paxtonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin Township, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 314 at the 2020 census.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Paxtonville is governed
Paxtonville appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Snyder County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Paxtonville does have local officials.
Form of government not yet listed.
0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Paxtonville
Registered voters elect the officials below.
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Mayor
Executive
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The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
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City Manager / Administrator
Executive
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The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
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Police Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the police department.
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Fire Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the fire and emergency services department.
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Public Works Director
Administration & departments
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Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
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Finance Director
Administration & departments
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The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
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Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
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Land use, zoning, building permits.
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Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
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Parks, programs, and public facilities.
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City Council
Legislative
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The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
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City Clerk
Administration & departments
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Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
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City Attorney
Administration & departments
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The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
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Boards & Commissions
Legislative
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Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
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Municipal Court
Judicial
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Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
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Municipal Judge
Judicial
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Presides over the municipal court.
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Population over time
From 265 in 2010 to 314 in 2020 (+18.5%).
Show the numbers
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 314 |
| 2010 | 265 |
History
The village of Paxtonville lies on Middle Creek and is connected to Middleburg, Koonhunter and Beavertown by the Paxtonville Road. Before the road existed connecting the main street, Paxton Street, to Route 522, in use today, the main route ran along the north side of Middle Creek to Royer's Bridge. Settled in the late 18th century, it was first known as Kern's Mill and was renamed after Robert Paxton. Just after the Civil War, an iron furnace was built there, but fell into disuse after a relatively short period of time when richer ores were found in the Great Lakes region. In the early years of the 20th century, brick-making was a major industry; this ended in the summer of 1963 when fire destroyed the Paxton Brick Company. A water-powered sawmill and cider press were in operation circa 1900. At various times businesses included a creamery, a restaurant, a cigar factory, a shirt factory, one or two general stores, a movie house, a barbershop, a grist mill and a gunsmith. As of December 2007, the town boasted a church and a feed mill, as well as a community center. The building housing the community center was previously a two-room school house in which instruction was provided for grades 1 through 8. Its last use for this purpose was in the Spring of 1955; after this time pupils were bussed to Middleburg. Around 1890 a school building stood on the north-east corner of Mill Street and the Paxtonville Road.
The soil underlying the village is principally glacial till, but approximately 150 feet west and 50 feet south of the juncture of the Paxtonville Road and Paxton Street, sedimentary rock lies just beneath the soil surface. Stone American Indian artifacts, chiefly arrow and spear points, are to be found at the north edge of town near the bank of Middle Creek. The completion of the Sunbury and Lewistown Railroad in the 1870s connected Paxtonville with these two cities, and for many years a number of daily passenger trains stopped at the Paxtonville station, which was located near the creek. Passenger service ended in the late 1920s, although freight service to Paxtonville area continued into the 1960s. For a short period of time, toward the end of the 19th century, Paxtonville was shown on railroad maps as "Benfer." A number of the oldest houses are log, but this construction is not evident because they have frame or shingle siding; they date from the early 19th century. As of 2007 there stands on the south side of Maple Avenue, approximately 100 feet west of the intersection with Paxton Street, a house of unusual construction. Built by Gabriel Gill in about 1885, it lacks a frame, but the exterior walls serve this purpose, being constructed of three layers of one inch planks, with the middle layer running at a 90-degree angle to the other two which is one form of vertical plank wall construction.
Over the years most residents have been of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry, as witnessed by family names such as Gill, Gift, Graybill, Hassinger, Kerstetter, Oldt, Olmstead/Umstead, Musser, Shaffer, Straub, Walter, and Wenrich. Circa 1900, the cemetery was moved from its position behind the church on the east edge of the village to its modern location on the southwestern edge. Coffins and their contents were carried on horse-drawn wagons. Immediately after World War I, donations from townspeople allowed the construction of the Memorial Hall on the west side of Paxton Street. It served a number of functions, including showing movies. During the era of silent films, these were accompanied by the Paxtonville Orchestra.
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