History

Washington Township was organized out of Antrim Township by the Cumberland County Quarter Sessions Court in April of 1779. A petition for the division of Antrim had been presented to the Court at the preceding January term. The new Township, named after the then General Washington, took in more than half the area of the original Antrim Township, and included all of the territory which later became Quincy Township. The first settlements in the Township began as early as 1735 during the period in which Cumberland County was the western frontier of the colonies.

By 1768 the construction of a road extending from what is now Fulton County, eastward toward Baltimore, was authorized by Cumberland County. Originally built as a shipping route for flour produced locally, the road developed into a turnpike, and is the basis for what is now known as Route 16, or Buchanan Trail. Washington Township developed slowly during the early 19th Century.

However, between 1880 and 1890 the Borough of Waynesboro exhibited an increase in growth, and in the southeast corner of Washington Township there was a flourishing summer resort area. During this period, excursion trains came to Pen Mar Park which featured amusements and an outdoor dancing pavilion. Guests would stay at large summer hotels which had been built in the area. Luminaries of the time, including government dignitaries such as President Wilson and Admiral Dewey were frequent visitors to this attractive mountain resort area.

During the Second World War, this area was taken over by the United States Army, and a decline in the resort activity began. The era of summer mountain resorts had ended in Washington Township, and one by one, the hotels were converted or demolished. The last and one of the finest, the Buena Vista Springs Hotel, burned to the ground on December 8, 1967. It had existed for some 77 years and had contained 250 rooms on five floors.