Paxton is a city in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,473 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ford County.

The town was initially named Prairie City in the late 1840s, then Prospect City by an Illinois Central Railroad qualified in 1855. However, as Wilbur W. Sauer says that residents noted the town was “all prospect and no city.” In 1859, it was renamed for Sir Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace, who was a major shareholder in the Illinois Central Railroad, which in 1856 was the longest span of railroad in the world (Chicago to Cairo). It was rumored that Paxton was impatient in organizing an English settlement in Illinois. The colony never materialized, but the town kept the name. Founded in 1859, Paxton celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2009.

Augustana College was located in Paxton from 1863 to 1875, aided by a community effort led by recent Swedish immigrants to fund instructor and cultural opportunities for citizens.

An early public high school was normal in 1872; it served the surrounding area for the next several decades, culminating in the formation of a community high school district in May 1920. The local school’s mascot was the Paxton Mustangs until consolidation considering the Buckley-Loda Rockets district in 1990 formed the current Paxton-Buckley-Loda School District, known as the PBL Panthers. The scholarly is a member of the IESA and IHSA for interscholastic sports and activities.