Bedford Township was formed in 1767 within Cumberland County. Then, in 1775, Frankstown Township was formed out of the northern third of Bedford Township, along with a portion of Barre Township. In 1785, Woodberry Township was formed out of the southern part of Frankstown Township along with an additional small portion of Bedford Township.
In 1794, St. Clair Township was formed from a portion of Bedford Township; it was located adjacent to the western half of Woodberry and bordered along that township’s southern boundary. In 1798, that western part of Woodberry Township (lying to the west of Dunnings Mountain range, between it and the Allegheny Mountain range) was separated to be formed into Greenfield Township.
Thirty-six years after the formation of Greenfield Township, and forty after St. Clair Township was formed, Greenfield was divided in two along an east-west line and St. Clair was divided similarly in two along an east-west line although, in both cases, the two halves were not the same size. The southern third of Greenfield and the northern quarter of St. Clair were combined into a new township that was named: Union. In 1846, when Blair County was erected out of Huntingdon and Bedford, the remaining two-thirds of Greenfield were absorbed into the new county. The entire region that had been formed as Union remained under the jurisdiction of Bedford County.
Union Township would undergo its first division in 1876. Divided into two unequally sized parts, the western half retained the name, while the eastern half was given the name: King Township. Kimmel Township was formed out of the northern half of King and a portion of Union in 1889.
Kimmel Township was named in honor of Judge Francis M. Kimmell. He was the President Judge of this district from 1852 to 1862. The township's name originally was spelled the same as the Judge's ~ with two 'l's on the end. At some point the second 'l' was dropped.
