Paxton Church
Paxtang, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A short way from here is early 18th century Paxton Church. The first pastor was installed in 1732. In the churchyard are buried John Harris, Jr., founder of Harrisburg, Senator William Maclay, and many other eminent leaders.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Nearby stands Paxton Church, an early-18th-century Presbyterian congregation whose first pastor was installed in 1732. Its churchyard holds figures who helped shape the region and the young republic — among them John Harris, Jr., founder of Harrisburg, and United States Senator William Maclay. The old burying ground reads like a roster of the leaders who built central Pennsylvania.
Why it matters
Paxton Church links the Scotch-Irish settlement of the Susquehanna frontier to the founding generation of the new nation, whose leaders lie buried in its yard.
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Related people
- · John Harris, Jr.
- · William Maclay
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Paxton Church
Paxtang, PA · est. 1947
Organized as a congregation in 1732 under William Bertram, Paxton Church counted among its early ministers the famous "Fighting Parson," John Elder, who led both a pulpit and a frontier militia in perilous times. Its churchyard holds notables of the region, including Harrisburg's founder John Harris, Jr., and Senator William Maclay. Faith and frontier defense mingled freely in this Scotch-Irish community.
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