History

Washington, the eleventh township, named in honor of the "Father of his Country," was organized in 1839, being taken from Pine Creek. It is bounded on the north by Snyder and Warsaw townships; on the east by Clearfield county; on the south by Winslow township, and on the west by Pine Creek and Warsaw.

Washington is one of the largest townships in the county. Its surface area is about fifty square miles, or nearly one-twelfth of the entire surface area of the county. It is over seven miles long from north to south, at its longest part and nearly nine miles wide, from east to west at its widest part.

Early Settlers -- In 1824 Henry Keys, Alexander Osborn, John McIntosh, John McGhee and Thomas Moore, first settled in what is now Washington township. To their new home they gave the name of "Beechwoods," from the great quantity of beech trees which they bound growing there, an appellation which still clings to the locality. They were followed in 1826 by Andrew Smith, William Cooper and John Wilson, with their families, and in 1829, James Smith, with his family, also located in the Beechwoods. These first settlers came from the eastern counties of Centre and Adams.

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