Scientists tell us that if a polyp, one of the lowest orders of creation, is cut into two or more parts each one of these will develop another polyp, which will have as much vigor and vitality as the original. It is very much the same way with the townships now comprising the county of Lycoming. At the time of the erection of the county, in 1795, there were but eight townships within the present limits of the county, namely, Muncy, Lycoming, Pine, Washington, Loyalsock, Nippenose, Bald Eagle and Upper Bald Eagle. Bald Eagle and Upper Bald Eagle subsequently became a part of Clinton County, leaving but six of the original townships. These have been divided and subdivided so often that some of the offspring have become of far greater importance than their progenitors.

Moreland Township was taken from Muncy Creek Township in 1813, the latter having been erected out of a part of the original Muncy Township in 1797. From 1813 down to the year 1820 Moreland Township included all of the territory now embraced within the limits of Franklin, Jordan and a part of Penn. There are several theories as to how it got its name, none of them authentic, and all of them more or less speculative. It is said by some that when one of the earliest settlers ascended the hill crest along the ridge of mountains which extends through the township he exclaimed, "More land!” and" as that was what they were looking for, the name of Moreland was given to it. Another theory is that when the early surveys were made for this section the work was done so carelessly that the settlers got "more land" than they were really entitled to. It was a very common practice in the early days to give more land to an applicant than his warrant called for so as to be on the safe side and allowances were always made for roads and improvements. Neither of these reasons for the name of the township seems to be worthy of serious consideration and in the absence of conclusive proof it is very probable that the name Moreland was given to the township because the topography of the country so nearly resembled the "Moorland" sections of Scotland.

Moreland Township is situated in the southwestern part of the county and is bounded on the north by Wolf and Penn townships, on the east by Franklin Township, on the south by Columbia and Montour counties and on the west by Wolf and Muncy Creek townships. It is the nineteenth in size in the county and contains 13,210 acres. The land composing nearly all of the township is hilly and mountainous and the timber cut within its limits was originally of very great value and the farms that have been since cleared up on the side hills have become very productive.

Like all other sections of Lycoming County, Moreland Township and the immediate vicinity has great historical interest connected with the war of the Revolution and the early Indian warfare. One of the first settlers was Col. George Smith, who had served in the war for independence and came to what is now Moreland Township about 1790. He had three sons and three daughters. The Smiths were Baptists in their religious faith and before coming to Lycoming County the eldest daughter, Annie, had married a Quaker named William Farr. As this was in violation of the Quaker idea that none of its members should be permitted to marry outside of the faith an effort was made to convince Farr that he had done a great wrong and ought to admit it. This he was unwilling to do and so left the Quaker church and affiliated himself with the Baptists from that time on. The incident is mentioned simply to show the spirit of intolerance that existed in those early days even among the very best of people.

Jonathan Smith, son of Col. George Smith, above mentioned, came to Lycoming County in 1795. He had married Annie Simpson, a sister of John Simpson, of Ohio, who was the grandfather of Ulysses Simpson Grant, the great general of the Civil War. Another of the earlier settlers was William Mears, who became a celebrated singing teacher in that section of the county. The singing teacher in those pioneer days was second in importance to the preacher and in fact was often even of more importance than this individual and his influence was widespread. Mears was one of the most popular of his time and left a lasting impression on the community.

John Opp came from Amsterdam and settled on Little Muncy Creek in 1790. He was one of the most important of the early settlers and did much for the development of the country in which he lived. He also married into the Simpson family and his son, Lieutenant Colonel Milton Opp, who was born in 1835, was killed in the terrific charge at the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864. He was a second cousin of the great commander who headed the Union forces on that memorable day, but it is quite impossible that the latter knew that one of his own relatives had laid down his life in that fierce struggle. Colonel Opp was one of the finest men ever sent from Lycoming County into the war of the rebellion and his untimely death was a great loss to the community in which he lived. It is a remarkable fact that both Abraham Lincoln and General U. S. Grant had relatives in Lycoming County and as might naturally be supposed they were all influential men in their respective communities. Among the other prominent settlers of the early day was Peter Jones, who died in the year 1850 within a few days of being 100 years old. Joseph Hill was another prominent man who had been a revolutionary soldier and served directly under General Washington.

Moreland Township is well supplied with churches and school houses, most of which were built at a very early period. The Little Muncy Baptist Church was organized in 1817 and afterwards became known as the Madison Baptist Church, its membership being composed of people who lived in that section of Lycoming County and also coming from across the mountain, in Montour, Columbia and Northumberland counties. Moreland is a well watered section being drained by both Big and Little Muncy creeks and their tributaries, the most important of which are Laurel Run, Beaver Run, Shipman’s Run and Sinking Run. The township is supplied with mail through the rural routes from Muncy. It is a very healthful section of the county and is inhabited by a sturdy set of people who have descended from the original settlers of the Muncy Valley.

Its population in 1926 was 608.