Linglestown, Pennsylvania

Linglestown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1765 by Thomas Lingle.

The population was 6,334 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1765, Thomas Lingle purchased a parcel of land in what was then Paxton Township, so as to develop a 90-plot living, working, and studying community for newly-arriving European settlers. He called his new settlement "The Town of St. Thomas", after the Christian apostle, his namesake. The sheepskin document on which Lingle drew the plan for his village still exists, showing in great detail the village's name, each of the plots, their plot numbers, and all street and alley names. The county deed recorder's seal and record information are visible on the bottom left corner of the document.

In 1811, Lingle died and was buried in the Wenrich's Church cemetery (now St. Thomas United Church of Christ), at the east end of the village. Soon thereafter, village and area residentes began calling his village "Lingle's town", and the name soon took on its current form.