A
township in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is a small geographic area.
TownshipA township is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country.-Uses of the term:...
s range in size from 6 to 54 square
mileA mile is a unit of length in a number of different systems. In contemporary English, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 1,609.344 meters or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters...
s (15.6 km² to 140.4 km²), with 36
square mileThe square mile is an imperial and US unit of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one statute mile.
s (93 km²) being the norm.
The term is used in two ways.
- A survey township is simply a geographic reference used to define property location for deeds and grants.
- A civil township is a unit of local government. Civil townships are generally given a name, sometimes abbreviated "Twp".
Survey townships
Survey townships are generally referred to by a number based on the
Public Land Survey SystemThe Public Land Survey System is a method used in the United States to survey and identify land parcels, particularly for titles and deeds of rural, wild or undeveloped land. Its basic units of area are the township and section. It is sometimes referred to as the rectangular survey system,...
(PLSS). A reference to the township will look something like "Township 2 North Range 3 East", and the use is fully explained in the PLSS article. Townships are marked on the U.S. Geological Survey maps of the United States of America.
These townships are normally a rectangle approximately 6 miles on a side with boundaries conforming to meridians and parallels within established limits, containing thirty-six sections, some of which are designated to take up the convergence of the east and west township boundary lines or range lines. Irregular townships with fewer than 36 sections have been created to correct for the Earth's curvature and survey errors. They exist in some form in all states other than the original 13 colonies,
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
,
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
, and
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
.
This kind of township is similar to geographic townships in the Province of
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
.
Civil townships
The township government is a local unit of government, originally rural in application. They are geographic and political subdivisions of a
countyIn the United States, a county is a local level of government below the state . Counties are used in 48 of the 50 states, while Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. These are considered "county-equivalents", as are some cities not designated as part of a county. The U.S...
. The township is identified by a name, such as
Raritan Township, New JerseyRaritan Township is a Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 19,809....
, or
Northville Township, MichiganNorthville Township, or The Charter Township of Northville, is a charter township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan and a suburb in Metro Detroit. The population was 21,036 at the 2000 census....
. The responsibilities and the form of the township government is specified by the state legislature.
The most common form of township government has an elected board of trustees or supervisors. Some additional offices, such as Clerk or Constable, may also be elected. The most common responsibilities include such things as road maintenance, land use planning, and trash collection. Many townships in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania provide police and fire protection, similar to what an incorporated city would provide.
In most midwestern states, a civil township often corresponds to a single survey township, but in many cases, especially in less populated areas, the civil township may be made up of all or portions of several survey townships. In areas where there are natural features such as a lakeshore or large river, the civil township boundaries may follow the geographic features rather than the survey township. Municipalities such as cities may incorporate or annex land in a township, which is then generally removed from township government. Only one state, Indiana, has township governments covering all its area and population. In other states, some types of municipalities like villages remain a part of the township while cities are not. As
urban areaAn urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s expand, a civil township may entirely disappear—see, for example,
Mill Creek Township, Hamilton County, OhioMill Creek Township is a former township of south central Hamilton County, Ohio that was largely absorbed in the late Nineteenth century by the annexation of suburban villages and outlying settlements by the City of Cincinnati. It extended north from the Ohio River along both banks of the Mill...
. In other expanding urban areas, the township may incorporate itself into a city; this can be seen in the numerous square cities of
Hennepin County, MinnesotaHennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century French explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2000 the population was 1,116,200; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 1,140,988. Its county seat is Minneapolis...
. The
Montgomery County, OhioMontgomery County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2000, the population was 559,062. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. The county seat is Dayton...
cities of
TrotwoodTrotwood, named for Betsy Trotwood , is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 27,420 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(1996, formerly Madison Township),
Huber HeightsHuber Heights is a city in Montgomery, Miami, and Greene Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Huber Heights's motto is "America's largest community of brick homes." The city is named for Charles Huber, the developer who constructed a number of the houses that would later comprise the city. Suburban...
(1980, Wayne Township), and
KetteringKettering is a city in Greene and Montgomery Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburb of nearby Dayton. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 57,502. It's the largest suburb in the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city incorporated in 1955 from the former Van...
(1955, Van Buren Township) are further examples of townships in corporating into cities.
PennsylvaniaA township in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is a unit of local government subordinate to a county, and distinct from cities and boroughs. Townships were established based on convenient geographical boundaries and vary in size from six to forty square miles . There are two classifications of...
and
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
are different; these states have civil townships that are not based on the PLSS survey system, but on the older
Metes and boundsMetes and bounds is a system or method of describing land, real property or real estate. The system has been used in England for many centuries, and is still used there in the definition of general boundaries...
survey system. A
New Jersey townshipA township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. It is a political entity as any typical town, city or municipality, collecting property taxes and providing services such as maintaining roads, garbage...
differs only in name from other municipalities: its boundaries are fixed, it is an incorporated body, and it is free to adopt another form of government. The
Federal GovernmentThe federal government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution, which shares sovereignty over the United States with the governments of the individual U.S. states. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and...
has frequently failed to allow for this; some New Jersey municipalities, such as the
Township of the Borough of VeronaVerona is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 13,533, making it the 181st most populous municipality in New Jersey ....
or
Township of South Orange VillageSouth Orange Village is a suburban district of the New York Metropolitan Area located in South Orange township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 16,964...
http://www.southorange.org/, changed their names to qualify for additional Federal aid.
Utah and Nevada have areas called townships, but they are not the same as civil townships. These areas are not separate governments, but have been granted some degree of self rule by a county.
Census statistics
Towns and townships are considered
minor civil divisionMinor civil division is a term used by the United States Census Bureau to designate the primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of a county, such as a civil township, precinct, or magisterial district...
s of counties by the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
for statistical purposes. According to the Census Bureau, in 2002 town or township government applied to 16,504 organized governments in the following 20 states:
- Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
- Illinois
Illinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
- Indiana
Indiana is a U.S. state, the 19 th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16 th in population and 17 th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38 th in land area, and is the...
- Kansas
Kansas is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was...
- Maine
The State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
- Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
- Michigan
Michigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
- Minnesota
Minnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
- Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
- Nebraska
Nebraska is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha....
- New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
- New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
- New York
New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America; on the Canadian border halfway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the U.S.; it is the 3 rd least populous, with just over 641,481 residents as...
- Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
- Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
- Rhode Island
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
- South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota was carved out of the southern half of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889...
- Vermont
The State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
- Wisconsin
Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
|
This categorization includes governmental units officially designated as "Towns" in the
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
states, New York, and Wisconsin, some plantations in Maine and locations in New Hampshire. In Minnesota, the terms town and township are used interchangeably with regard to township governments. Although towns in the six New England states and New York, and townships in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, are legally termed municipal corporations, perform municipal-type functions, and frequently serve densely populated urban areas, they have no necessary relation to concentration of population, and are thus counted for census purposes as town or township governments. Even in states beyond New England, townships often serve urbanized areas and provide municipal services typically provided by incorporated municipalities. Michigan has created
charter townshipA charter township is a form of local government in the U.S. state of Michigan. In Michigan, as in other states with like systems , a township is an administrative division of a county, which is an administrative division of the state...
s as a separate type of government to allow greater flexibility for township governments to serve urbanized populations.
The count of 16,504 organized township governments does not include unorganized township areas (where the township may exist in name only, but has no organized government) or where the townships are coextensive with cities and the cities have absorbed the township functions. It also does not include townships in
IowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of...
, which are not separate governments, but are classified as subordinate agencies of county governments.
Of the 16,504 town or township governments, only 1,179 (7.1 percent) had as many as 10,000 inhabitants in the 2000 census and 52.4 percent of all towns or townships had fewer than 1000 inhabitants. There was a decline in the number of town or township governments from 16,629 in 1997 to 16,504 in 2002. Nearly all of the decline involved townships in the Midwest.
Use by state
Because township government is defined by each state, the use of this form also varies by state. States using a township form include for following:
- Township government is used in Indiana, Kansas
Kansas is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was...
, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, New JerseyA township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. It is a political entity as any typical town, city or municipality, collecting property taxes and providing services such as maintaining roads, garbage...
, North DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America; on the Canadian border halfway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the U.S.; it is the 3
rd least populous, with just over 641,481 residents as...
, Ohio, PennsylvaniaA township in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is a unit of local government subordinate to a county, and distinct from cities and boroughs. Townships were established based on convenient geographical boundaries and vary in size from six to forty square miles . There are two classifications of...
, South DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota was carved out of the southern half of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889...
and Wisconsin (in Wisconsin known as "towns").
- The form is used in parts of Illinois and also in Nebraska, where they are sometimes referred to as precincts. Two cases of this use of terminology are Edwards
Edwards County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 6,971. Its county seat is Albion, Illinois.-Geography:According to the U.S...
and WabashWabash County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of 2000, the population was 12,937. Its county seat is Mt. Carmel.-Geography:According to the U.S...
Counties in Illinois.
- The New England
New England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
states have a similar concept of local government, but combine the municipal and area government forms into a townThe New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. An institution that does not have a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in that they were originally set up so that all...
; this is the locus of the town meetingA town meeting is a meeting where the population of an entire geographic area is invited to participate in a gathering, often for a political, administrative, or legislative purpose. It is a form of democratic rule that has been used primarily in the United States since the 1600s...
. These states are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. New York also has incorporated townships, called towns, although they have fewer powers than New England towns.
- Some states formerly used township governments, or have some vestige of named townships. These include Arkansas, California
California is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, Iowa, NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
, North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
, Oklahoma, South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was...
, and WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
.
External links
- Organization website for the National Association of Towns and Townships
The National Association of Towns and Townships is an American lobbying or advocacy group of officials and employees of small government units across the United States...
.
- Government Organization, U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Census of Governments, Volume 1, Number 1, Government Organization, GC02(1)-1, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2002.