[2] Saxton is located in northwestern Bedford County at 40°12′53″N 78°14′43″W / 40.21472°N 78.24528°W / 40.21472; -78.24528 (40.214584, -78.245241),[3] at the northern edge of an area known as the Broad Top in the Appalachian Mountains.

Saxton Mountain is a small, sharp ridge which rises above the town to the east, behind which is the Broad Top plateau.

Approximately mile to the west of Saxton is Tussey Mountain, which runs south to north.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Saxton has a total area of 0.41 square miles (1.05 km2), all land.

As the United States grew and pushed the frontier west, a few settlers began building homesteads, farms, and mills throughout the valley that Saxton is located in.

The thriving railroad attracted thousands of workers and their families to the town and surrounding area.

These included a pig iron furnace, coke ovens, a tannery, brickyards, dairies, and others.

Most of the buildings and infrastructure owned by the railroad were abandoned, and has subsequently been salvaged or left to erode away.

It was one of the first test facilities for peace-time plutonium use, as well as cooling methods that would be used to relieve meltdown situations such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.