Captain Lazarus Stewart and dozens of his followers moved from Lancaster County into the Wyoming Valley in 1770; they fought for Connecticut in the Yankee-Pennamite Wars.

For their service to Connecticut, Captain Stewart and his followers were granted a tract of land which became Hanover Township.

The community was named after Lazarus Stewart's hometown of Hanover in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

In the early 1770s, Captain Lazarus Stewart built the first house in the Breslau section of the township (between Solomon Creek and the Susquehanna River).

On July 3, 1778, Loyalist and Iroquois forces routed the Patriot militia at the Battle of Wyoming in present-day Exeter.

The main thoroughfares in Hanover Township are the South Cross Valley Expressway (PA 29), the four-lane Sans Souci Parkway (locally pronounced "San Suey"), and the two-lane South Main Street.

crosses the Susquehanna River, linking Hanover Township to Plymouth and Larksville.

The township is part of Hanover Area School District, which is located in central Luzerne County.

Three boroughs, Ashley, Sugar Notch, and Warrior Run, are surrounded by Hanover Township.

The following is a list of current board members:[6] As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 11,488 people, 4,951 households, and 3,153 families residing in the township.