In 1848 a large slice was cut from Lewis Township and that of McIntyre established. It was named for Samuel McIntyre, of Philadelphia, who was one of the original incorporators of the Williamsport and Elmira railroad. It is the second largest in the county and contains 46,260 acres. Tioga County adjoins it on the north. It is a mountainous region and although there is some farming land on the plateaus the soil is thin. Its early history is that of Lewis Township and it differs little from the surrounding territory except that coal deposits were found many years ago and the McIntyre Coal Company was opened and operated a few miles above Ralston for a number of years. Then the veins gave out and it suspended operations. Recently new veins have been discovered and the company is again in operation. The coal is of the bituminous variety and is of fairly good quality.

Early settlements in the township were slow on account of the density of the wilderness. John Smithkontz and John Blackwell were the first comers. Iron was discovered in the mountains at an early day and a furnace was built below Ralston where the ore was smelted for some years. The Williamsport and Elmira railroad was built for the purpose of getting the manufactured pig iron made at this furnace to the canal at Williamsport. But the ore was not found in sufficient quantity to warrant a continuance of the business and the whole enterprise was ultimately abandoned. There was also a furnace at Carterville, a few miles above Ralston, but, after operating for a time, this too was abandoned. There is also a coal mine at Ralston operated by the Red Run Coal Company and valuable deposits of fire clay.

Ralston is the only town in the township. It is a post office, which was established May 5, 1838 and called Oakville. The name was changed to Ralston December 11, 1839 and the first postmaster was James Batchelor.

McIntyre Township was at one time the scene of some of the largest lumber operations in the county, but with the passing of this industry much of its prosperity vanished. It has been the scene of many ambitious industrial enterprises but most of them have proved failures.

Marsh Hill at the junction of the Pennsylvania and Susquehanna Railroads has become an important railroad center, but aside from this, there are no other towns in the township. Marsh Hill is a United States postoffice, established December 29, 1884 with W. K. Heylman as first postmaster.

The schools are of the very best of those in rural communities but the only church is at Ralston. In 1920 McIntyre Township had a population of 1,012 which includes the village of Ralston which is not an incorporated town.