History of The Townships of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania - Lewis Township

Lewis Township

Lewis Township was formed from part of Hepburn Township in 1835. It is named for Ellis Lewis who was the president judge of the local district court at the time. The township was expanded in on December 10, 1846 when part of Cascade Township was added to Lewis Township. This was done at the request of the residents of the area who geographically cut off from the rest of Cascade Township.

Lewis Township was largely uninhabited until after the Revolutionary War. A squatter named A.M. Slack is believed to have been the first permanent settler. He built a cabin and cleared some land in the area that is now the village of Bodines. The village of Trout Run has its beginnings during the construction of the Williamson Road. This road which stretched from Williamsport, Pennsylvania to Painted Post, New York helped to open north central Pennsylvania to settlement. Charles Williamson, the builder of the road, established a supply depot at Trout Run.

Much of Lewis Township is covered with steep slopes that were carved into the Allegheny Plateau by the streams that drain into the West Branch Susquehanna River. The geography of the township has limited the development of the township. A narrow valley along Lycoming Creek is where most of the settlement of Lewis Township has occurred. James Kyle arrived in the area sometime around 1800. He owned 260 acres (1.1 km2) along Lycoming Creek. Kyle took out an advertisement in the Lycoming Gazette. The ad placed on March 14, 1810 read as follows.

Kyle's farm was eventually sold to Robert Allen. Robert and his family were among the most successful and prominent early settlers. Allen was born in Northumberland on August 6, 1797. His father, John Allen, was a native of County Down, Ireland and his mother was from Scotland. John Allen moved from Northumberland to a section of land along Lycoming Creek between Cogan Station and Hepburnville in Hepburn Township. He died in 1819 and his farm was divided among his children. Robert Allen sold his share of the farm to his brothers and moved further north along Lycoming Creek and bought the land that was formerly owned by James Kyle. Allen and his wife Mary Ann Hews improved the Kyle Farm. They rose to a position of prominence as the owners of an inn that was frequently busy with visitors who were moving along the Williamson Road. Allen was also employed as a surveyor and civil engineer. He spent several years working for the United States Government in the Northwest Territory especially in what is now Michigan along the Detroit River and Lake Huron. Allen died in 1849 and his wife died in 1883. Her parents Henry and Martha Hews were part of the failed "English Settlement" in Pine Township. They had migrated to Pennsylvania from Chard, Somerset, England. After struggling the survive in Pine Township, Henry Hews cleared and established several successful farms in Tioga County and northern Lycoming County before finally settling near Trout Run where his daughter met and married Robert Allen.

Lewis Township has changed little over the years. The population has risen to 1,139 as of the 2000 census up from 985 in the census of 1890. Trout Run is on U.S. Route 15 which follow the old Williamson Road. This highway is currently part of the Interstate 99 project.