[2] The first recorded white settler in the vicinity of modern-day Rice Township was Conrad Wickeiser in 1798.

Samuel B. Stivers and William Vandermark were the first known white settlers in what is now Rice Township.

Additional settlers entered the territory and constructed the first houses and sawmills.

In the 1920s and 30s, a major industry in Rice Township was the harvesting of ice, which was sold in both Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton.

The ice industry faded with the growing popularity of the electric refrigerator.

Rice is part of the Mountain Top region of Luzerne County.

19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.