Named for the Shenango River, Shenango Township was incorporated in 1796 as a part of Beaver County, Pennsylvania; Lawrence County did not yet exist. Shenango later became one of Lawrence County's original townships and quickly became one of the most populous areas, because the land was suitable for many different purposes. One of the first settlers to live in Shenango was William Carins. He came to this area in 1796 and was the man who gave Shenango its name. Carins was awarded the land after his service in the Revolutionary War; he was paid in of land. Carins worked as a cloth weaver and ran a small store where he sold his goods. William Tindall was another one of Shenango's first settlers. Tindall was paid for his service in the Revolutionary War. He lived to the age of 93 and was buried in the Tindall family cemetery near the "Turkey Hill" section of the township. The Tindall family cemetery is most famously known as the resting place of Mary Black, a supposed, but never proven, witch of around the same time period. Her grave is separate from the others and is the only one dug up. Shenango's largest land owner was a Philadelphia lawyer named Benjamin Chew. Chew bought up large portions of the southern extent of the township under assumed names for pennies an acre. He later resold the land for a profit, and the small town of Chewton was later named after him.