Estherton, Pennsylvania
{{short description|Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Estherton, Pennsylvania
|official_name =
|settlement_type = Unincorporated area
|nickname =
|motto =
|image_skyline = File:Estherton boulder.jpg
|imagesize =
|image_caption = Boulder in Estherton, PA, once signifying where the town was laid in 1756. It was moved from its original location along the riverfront and rededicated in 1991.
|image_blank_emblem = File:Estherton header.png
|blank_emblem_type = The header of an advertisement for Estherton
|blank_emblem_size = 200
|pushpin_map = USA Pennsylvania#USA
|pushpin_label = Estherton
|pushpin_label_position =
|pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Pennsylvania
|pushpin_mapsize =
|image_map =
|map_caption = Location within Dauphin county
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Pennsylvania
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Dauphin
|subdivision_type3 = Township
|subdivision_name3 = Susquehanna
|government_footnotes =
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|leader_title =
|leader_name =
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|leader_name1 =
|established_title =
|established_date =
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes =
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|area_land_km2 =
|area_water_km2 =
|population_as_of = 2000
|population_footnotes =
|population_total =
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone = Eastern (EST)
|utc_offset = -5
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = -4
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_ft =
|coordinates = {{coord|40|18|44|N|76|53|52|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP codes
|postal_code = 17110
|area_code = 717 and 223
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info =
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info =
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
Estherton is an unincorporated area and neighborhood in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Harrisburg-Carlisle area. It is situated on the Susquehanna River, just north of the city of Harrisburg and above the Montrose Park neighborhood but below the Lucknow neighborhood within Susquehanna Township. Interstate 81 runs through the community to the George N. Wade Memorial Bridge.
History
Estherton was founded as Coxestown, or Coxtown,{{GNIS|1197255}} in 1756 by Dr. John Cox Jr. after his wife, Esther.{{efn|name=a|There is some debate when the Coxes entirely obtained the land. It is thought John Cox purchased it from the Penns. However, there is a deed recorded in the Lancaster Courthouse dated Aug. 26, 1764 in which Samuel Mifflin and his wife conveyed to John Cox one-half interest in a 338 acre tract of land along the river. Irma Watts (1926) speculated the plausibility that John Cox already had the other half interest, or that it augmented other holdings of his, as Estherton was laid out during the time of the French and Indian War.}}{{cite book|title=Notes and Queries, Historical, Biographical and Genealogical, Relating Chiefly to Interior Pennsylvania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyxBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA19|year=1895|publisher=Harrisburg Publishing Company|page=19}}[http://www.susquehannatwp.com/About.asp About Susquehanna Township] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213112332/http://www.susquehannatwp.com/About.asp |date=2012-12-13 }} It was the second town laid out in Dauphin County, after Middletown. In 1779, Estherton was used as a supply depot during the Sullivan Expedition.{{Cite book |last=Steinmetz |first=Richard H. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1976122 |title=This was Harrisburg : a photographic history |date=1976 |publisher=Stackpole Books |others=Robert D. Hoffsommer |isbn=0-8117-1729-1 |location=Harrisburg, Pa. |pages=31 |oclc=1976122}} This continued furthermore as the town was a port of call as goods were transported down the river.{{Cite journal |last=Watts |first=Irma |date=April 1928 |title=Esther Town |url=https://journals.psu.edu/pmhb/article/view/28129/27885 |journal=Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=168–175}} In 1800, Methodist families formed the Coxestown Methodist Episcopal Church, which would be moved and renamed many times to what is currently St. Marks United Methodist Church.{{Cite news |date=3 May 2002 |title=St. Mark's United Methodist Church |work=The Patriot News |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=7CE827414CA14899813054EFF19CC94B&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F10D98F00EDD8BB6A |access-date=1 June 2023}} Before 1828 the "Coxestown Inn" was formed and was a popular visit for those passing by with the river trade, and would develop a notorious reputation as a rowdy roadhouse that continued through the era of automobile parties; it was later raided by Prohibition Agents before finally burning down in 1926.{{Cite news |last=Bradley |first=Mary |date=11 September 2001 |title=Coxestown offered haven from Prohibition |pages=D01 |work=The Patriot News |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=7CE827414CA14899813054EFF19CC94B&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F10D98EB06F6A28DB |access-date=1 June 2023}} In the early 1970s Interstate 81 was built through the area.
Notes
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References
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{{Geographic Location (8-way)
|Centre = Estherton
|Northeast = Beaufort Farms, Windsor Farms
|East = Susquehanna Township
|Southeast = Edgemont, Penbrook
|South = Harrisburg
|Southwest = Enola, West Fairview
|West = Summerdale
|Northwest = Overview, Marysville
|image =
}}
{{Dauphin County, Pennsylvania}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area
Category:Unincorporated communities in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania