Lying along both sides of Lycoming Creek about fifteen miles from Williamsport there is a large stretch of territory, most of it mountainous, but containing much fertile land along the creek bottoms, known as Lewis Township. It was formerly a part of Hepburn and was erected in 1835. May 4, 1846, by reason of the long distance the inhabitants on the east side of the creek were compelled to travel in order to vote, a portion of Cascade Township was annexed to it. It is now the seventh in size in the county and contains 30,720 acres.

The great stream which runs through it has a history of great importance. Along it the first Moravian missionaries traveled, Conrad Weiser, the famous Indian interpreter, traversed its entire length, Colonel Thomas Hartley ascended it on his successful expedition against the Indians at Tioga Point in 1778 and the first railroad to be built in Lycoming County, and one of the first in the United States, followed its tortuous course. The mountainous section of the township forms the south escarpment of the Allegheny chain.

A. M. Slack was the first permanent settler at what is now Bodines. The name of Slack’s Run was given in his honor to one of the streams entering into the larger creek. At the time of the building of the Williamson Road through the unbroken wilderness one of the most important depots for the storing of supplies was located at Trout Run, now in Lewis Township. James Kyle built a log house below Trout Run about the year 1805 and Robert Allen, the Apkers, Clendennins and Rileys came soon after. Robert Allen’s son Hugh was a member of the famous expedition engineered by Aaron Burr on his illfated exploit down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, but after leaving Cincinnati he was never heard of again. Aaron Burr was a friend of Charles Williamson, who built the Williamson road, and visited him at Bath. It is quite probable that he passed over the famous road as that was the only way of reaching that place at that time. He no doubt stopped at Trout Run, and it probably was here that Hugh Allen met him and was induced to accompany him on his traitorous expedition.

Robert Allen, another son of the original Robert, was the founder of the village of Trout Run and in 1828 built the Trout Run House, a famous hostelry in its day, to which lovers of hunting and fishing from all over the United States came to indulge in their favorite sport. For many years this hotel was owned and operated by Charles Clendennin and after his death was run by his widow, known far and wide as "Aunt Martha Clendennin," and her fame soon extended to the limits of the state. She was a remarkable character in many ways and became one of the most popular women, as well as one of the most capable, in the county.

The father of "Aunt Martha Clendennin" was Henry Hews, who bought a farm a few miles below Trout Run at an early day and opened a tavern. It was the only public house at that time between Williamsport and Elmira and between Williamsport and the Blockhouse, now Liberty. Hews was a man of strong character and was influential in the settlement. It was at his hotel that soldiers returning from the War of 1812 by way of the Williamson Road found shelter, and upon one occasion about forty travelers stopped at the tavern over night. It was afterwards learned that they were Joseph Smith and his band of Mormons who were proceeding from New York state to found a colony in the west. The Hews Hotel was also the changing station on the stage route from Williamsport to Elmira. Hews left several children, who also lived in the same section as their father and helped materially in the development of the country.

Another early settler was John Bodine, who took up land at what is now the village of Bodine, named in his honor. His son, Samuel Bodine, was one of the leading men in the community and was connected with the building of the West Branch Canal and the Williamsport and Elmira Railroad. For many years a large tannery was located at Bodine, operated by Robert Innes, and a tannery extract company, owned by Edward Lippincott, was established at Trout Run. At this time there are only a few industries of a minor character in the township, but there are several creameries on the line of the railroad.

Trout Run is the principal village in the township, but it has lost much of its ancient glory when it was a famous summer resort and a stopping point on the Williamson Road. It, Bodine and Fields Station, are United States postoffices.

Lewis Township is well supplied with schools and churches and its citizens are of the highest character. It had a population of 575 in 1920.