Lying in the most southerly portion of Lycoming County and extending for a short distance into Union County, is another beautiful valley, known by the picturesque name of White Deer. It is triangular in shape and is surrounded on three sides by portions of the Bald Eagle and White Deer Mountains. Most of the valley is comprised within the limits of Washington Township, which was erected by order of the court of Northumberland County, August 28, 1785. It was taken from Bald Eagle Township which then comprised all the territory lying south of the river and extended as far west as a point opposite the mouth of Pine Creek. From it have since been erected Armstrong, Bastress, Brady, Clinton, Limestone, Nippenose and Susquehanna townships in Lycoming County besides several outside. Its original area was 99,120 acres. It is now thirteenth in size in the county and has an area of 22,400 acres.

White Deer Valley is a fine agricultural region, there being many exceedingly fertile farms within its borders, and its natural scenery is unsurpassed by that of any other section of the county. The view from the top of Bald Eagle Mountain on the road to Elimsport is one of exceeding beauty, the valley stretching away in every direction and forming a delightful prospect. The name was given to it by reason of the fact that in the early days several white deer were killed in the mountains and at one time an entirely black deer was killed within its borders. Up until only a few years ago rumor had it that a magnificent white buck still roamed the woods in the immediate vicinity which for years had defied the skill of the most experienced hunters, and it may be that this tradition still exists among the old hunters of the valley. The name of the valley was originally White Deer Hole. The name "Hole" was added to it, it is claimed by many, on account of the fact that near the center of the valley there formerly existed a large circular basin of low ground about ten acres in extent. It was high on all sides and lowered towards its center. Where there was a small island covered with bushes and surrounded by water. A more probable reason for the name, however, may be found in the fact that it was given to it in contradistinction to Black Hole Valley, which adjoins it on the east and was thus called because when the first settlers looked down upon it from the surrounding hills it was so thickly covered with a heavy growth of timber as to have the appearance of a great "black hole." White Deer Valley comprises the townships of Washington and Brady in Lycoming County and Gregg in Union, the latter having been struck off from Lycoming County and annexed to Union in 1861.

Among the earliest settlers in the valley was John Farley, who came here in 1787 and became of considerable prominence. He built the first grist mill in what is now Washington Township. Another remarkable settler was Catherine Smith, who located near the mouth of White Deer Creek some time before the Revolutionary War. She was a widow with ten children and all she had in the world was 300 acres of land in White Deer Valley. She was a woman of great business ability and soon became an important factor in the community. She was early solicited to build a grist mill on her land as one was greatly needed at that point. She borrowed enough money for this purpose in 1774 and in June, 1775, completed the mill, which soon became of very great importance. In the summer of 1776 she built a large boring mill where large numbers of gun barrels were bored for use in the Revolutionary War. It was the only factory of this kind in this section of the state and was of great service to the military authorities. During the Indian wars that followed the close of the Revolution one of her sons, who was of the most service to her, was killed, and on July 8, 1779, the Indians burned her mill and she was compelled to flee with her children. She returned in 1783 and after much difficulty succeeded in rebuilding the grist mill. Suit was then brought against her in ejectment by parties who claimed the land and eventually she was dispossessed of her property. During the litigation she petitioned the assembly for assistance, but, of course, they had no power to aid her. During the progress of the law suit she walked to Philadelphia and back thirteen times. Part of the stone house in which she lived is still standing and until recently the place of her burial was marked, but the date of her death is unknown. The story of her life is a pathetic one. Her struggles in widowhood, her service to the early settlers in the erection of the grist mill, the manufacture of gun barrels, which was such a material aid to the cause of liberty, the loss of her property and her last futile appeal to the assembly, all revived sad memories of the past, but show in what heroic moulds even the women of that period were cast. Her life and devotion teach a powerful lesson in the cause of true patriotism. The walls of her house that are still standing are just across the county line in Union County and were a part of Lycoming County until it was shorn of this part of its possessions in 1861. One of the most important of the frontier defences, Fort Menninger, which was built in 1778, was situated just west of the widow Smith’s mill, forming the apex of an irregular triangle, of which the mill was one base and the widow’s house the other.

William Sedam was another early settler and representative man of his time. His hotel, known as "Road Hall," was one of the first in that section and was a famous resort for many years. It is still standing. Robert Foresman was another early settler and was ancestor of the late D. Hammond, Robert M., Seth T., and James Foresman, now deceased, and H. Melick Foresman, all of whom have been closely identified with the social and business interests of Williamsport. The ancestors of Seth T. McCormick, Esq., and the late Hon. Henry C. McCormick also settled in Washington Township and were among the most influential men in the community. Another very important man among the early settlers was Matthew Brown, who came to White Deer Valley about the year 1774. He was a member of the committee of safety for Northumberland County and of the convention that adopted the first constitution of the state of Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the army during the Revolutionary War and died of fever contracted in the service, after returning home.

Elimsport is the only village in Washington Township and is a United States postoffice. The origin of this name is interesting and unique. It seems that in an early day a German Methodist minister of the gospel came to that section and founded a sort of colony. When it came to giving it a name the minister wanted to call it Elam, after the name of the place in Arabia in which was the first stopping place of the Israelites after they had crossed the Red Sea and to which point the Lord had conducted them after their many complaints, because there were to be found twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees. The settlement in Washington Township was in a section that was unusually well watered and hence the desire to call it Elam. But it was discovered that there was another Elam in the state, in Delaware County, and the postoffice authorities would not permit two offices in the same state to have the same name. It was therefore decided to call the place Elimsport, which was near enough to Elam for all practical purposes. Although a small place, Elimsport at one time was an important lumber center and there was a large tannery there. It is beautifully situated at the base of the mountain and is in the neighborhood of a fine farming section. Like all the rest of Lycoming County, Washington Township is well watered and there is no more healthful section in the state.

The census of 1920 gives it a population of 670.