A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county , most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England , New York , as well as Wisconsin to refer to the equivalent of the civil township in these states; Minnesota uses "town" officially but often uses it and "township" interchangeably. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary in each state . Civil townships are distinct from survey townships , but in states that have both, the boundaries often coincide, especially in Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, and may completely geographically subdivide a county. The U.S. Census Bureau classifies civil townships as minor civil divisions . Currently, there are 20 states with civil townships, including Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia (in certain areas).
33-470: Mathias Township is a civil township of Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan . The population was 554 at the 2010 census . In 2020, its population was 532. According to the United States Census Bureau , the township has a total area of 72.0 square miles (186.5 km), of which 70.7 square miles (183.1 km) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.5 km), or 1.87%, is water. As of
66-455: A governing board (the name varies from state to state) and a clerk, trustee, or mayor (in New Jersey and the metro townships of Utah ). Township officers frequently include justice of the peace , road commissioner , assessor , constable , in addition to surveyor . In the 20th century, many townships also added a township administrator or supervisor to the officers as an executive for
99-460: A single township trustee and a three-member board. Civil townships in these states are generally not incorporated , and nearby cities may annex land in adjoining townships with relative ease. In Michigan, however, general law townships are corporate entities (e.g. they can be the subject of lawsuits), and some can become reformulated as charter townships , a status intended to protect against annexation from nearby municipalities and which grants
132-493: Is divided into townships as mandated since the North Carolina Constitution of 1868. Some urbanized counties such as Mecklenburg County ( Charlotte ) now number their townships (e.g. "Township 12") rather than using names. Townships all over the state used to have some official organization and duties but now are only considered ceremonial divisions of each county. Township names are still used quite extensively at
165-546: Is formed, officials from either unit of government may serve in both village and town governments simultaneously. A referendum is held to decide whether residents prefer a village-style or town-style government, which will then function primarily as a village or town but will perform some of the functions of the other form. Green Island has both a Village and a Town government, but the Town government's functions are limited. The rest have unified Town/Village governments. Palm Tree, which
198-837: Is no government per se at the township level in North Carolina, and there are no elected or appointed offices associated with townships. In 2015 Utah created a form of civil township called a metro township . While each metro township has a mayor and township council, and manage a budget, and cannot be annexed without its permission, its powers of taxation are limited, and must contract with other municipalities or municipal shared-service districts for most municipal services (police, for example). The five metro townships—all located in Salt Lake County —are Kearns , Magna , Copperton , Emigration Canyon and White City . As of 2012, there were 16,360 organized town or township governments in
231-466: Is similar, in that it is a form of municipal government equal in status to a village , town , borough , or city , and provides similar services to a Pennsylvania township, and varies in size from one-tenth ( Shrewsbury Twp. ) to one hundred ( Jackson Twp. ) square miles. In the Southern U.S. , outside cities and towns there is generally no local government other than the county. Arkansas townships are
264-532: Is subdivided into counties, which are subdivided into cities and towns—except for New York City , whose five coextensive counties for state government purposes are municipal boroughs for city government purposes ( Bronx County/The Bronx , Kings County/Brooklyn , New York County/Manhattan , Queens County/Queens , and Richmond County/Staten Island ). As in New England, the term "town" equates to "township" in most other states. Additionally, New Yorkers colloquially use
297-403: Is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. North Carolina is no exception to that rule, but it does have townships as minor geographical subdivisions of counties, including both unincorporated territory and also land within the bounds of incorporated cities and towns (as well as the extraterritorial jurisdiction of municipalities). Every county
330-794: The Upper Midwestern states near the Great Lakes , civil townships (known in Michigan as general law townships and in Wisconsin as towns), are often, but not always, overlaid on survey townships. The degree to which these townships are functioning governmental entities varies from state to state and in some cases even within a state. For example, townships in the northern part of Illinois are active in providing public services—such as road maintenance, after-school care, and senior services—whereas townships in southern Illinois frequently delegate these services to
363-477: The census of 2000, there were 571 people, 262 households, and 166 families residing in the township. The population density was 8.0 inhabitants per square mile (3.1/km). There were 465 housing units at an average density of 6.5 units per square mile (2.5 units/km). The racial makeup of the township was 96.32% White , 1.23% Native American , 0.53% Asian , 0.53% from other races , and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latinos of any race were 1.40% of
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#1733086150904396-465: The maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island ) in 1749 in the form of townships controlled by a court of quarter sessions , a system that had characterized local government in Britain and Virginia. This court had both administrative and judicial functions, and took over most responsibilities of local government, including the appointment of necessary officers. A form of direct democracy
429-411: The board. In some cases, townships run local libraries , senior citizen services, youth services, disabled citizen services, cemetery services, besides emergency assistance. In some states, a township and a municipality that is coterminous with that township may wholly or partially consolidate their operations. Depending on the state, the township government has varying degrees of authority. In
462-575: The boundaries of a town that provide additional government services not provided by their parent town, such as sewage, fire, law enforcement, garbage collection, public facilities, water and building code enforcement. In Vermont, most current cities were actually former villages that broke off from their parent town. Connecticut has boroughs and non-consolidated cities, although these communities are not as autonomous as villages in New York and Vermont, and today there are only eight non-consolidated boroughs (plus
495-431: The community of Groton Long Point ) and one non-consolidated city. A Pennsylvania township is a unit of local government, responsible for services such as police departments, local road and street maintenance . It acts the same as a city or borough . Townships were established based on convenient geographical boundaries and vary in size from six to fifty-two square miles (10–135 km ). A New Jersey township
528-820: The county government level in North Carolina as a way of determining and dividing up areas for administrative purposes; primarily for collecting county taxes, determining fire districts (e.g. Lebanon Township in Durham County gives its name to the Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department ), for real estate purposes such as categorizing land deeds, land surveys and other real estate documents, and for voter registration purposes. In most areas of North Carolina that are outside any municipal limit (outside cities or towns), townships are used to determine voter polling places, and in most instances county election boards divide up their voter precincts by township. However, there
561-745: The county. In New England and New York , states are generally subdivided into towns and cities, which are municipalities that provide most local services. With the exception of a few remote areas of New Hampshire and Vermont and about half of Maine , all of New England lies within the borders of an incorporated municipality. New England has counties, though in southern New England, they are strictly used as dividing lines for judicial systems and statistical purposes, while in northern New England, they often handle other limited functions, such as law enforcement, education and some public facilities in addition to judicial systems. New England also has cities , most of which are towns whose residents have voted to replace
594-590: The county. Most townships in Illinois also provide services such as snow removal, senior transportation, and emergency services to households residing in unincorporated parts of the county. The townships in Illinois each have a township board, whose board members were formerly called township trustees , and a single township supervisor. In contrast, civil townships in Indiana are operated in a relatively consistent manner statewide and tend to be well organized, with each served by
627-896: The discontinuance of township organization within such a coterminous municipality. In New York, such a local government is called a coterminous town-village and is governed under Article 17 of the New York Village Law . It is never called a consolidated city-township because New York's cities, as opposed to its villages, exist outside of town areas. Six towns are coterminous with their single village: Green Island in Albany County ; East Rochester in Monroe County ; Palm Tree in Orange County and Scarsdale , Harrison and Mount Kisco in Westchester County . When such an entity
660-463: The divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the U.S. census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city
693-467: The following 21 states: There were 29 states without organized town or township governments as of 2012: The provinces of Eastern Canada have, or have had, divisions that are analogous to the townships of the United States. Ontario and Quebec continue to have townships that subdivide their respective counties. Local government was introduced into Nova Scotia (which at the time also included
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#1733086150904726-437: The formation of such a local government is "township and municipal consolidation." This form of local government is distinct from a municipality coterminous with a higher level of government, which is called a consolidated city-county or a variation of that term. The entire area of Connecticut is divided into towns . Cities and boroughs are within town areas, and their governments may or may not be consolidated with those of
759-424: The median income for a household in the township was $ 25,167, and the median income for a family was $ 27,500. Males had a median income of $ 35,000 versus $ 22,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $ 16,135. About 15.4% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 37.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over. As of 2021, its median household income
792-530: The population. Culturally, 30.5% were of Finnish , 13.9% German , 7.3% United States or American, 6.8% English , 6.6% Swedish and 5.6% Irish ancestry. In 2020, its population declined to 532. In 2000, there were 262 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who
825-517: The prospect after three years. These acts were repealed in 1879, and townships were replaced in the third quarter of the 19th century by self-governing municipalities. Coterminous municipality A coterminous municipality , sometimes also known as a coterminous city or a coterminous town-village , is a form of local government in some U.S. states in which a municipality and one or more civil townships have partial or complete consolidation of their government functions. A term used for
858-544: The term "township" to mean "town". Townships and hamlets are unincorporated areas within a town or towns. Because towns are administrative divisions of a county, town boundaries cannot cross county lines. In addition to administrative subdivisions, New York State also has cities . Cities in New York are fully autonomous municipal corporations and, thus, are able to cross county lines and whose governments fully independent of county control. Finally, New York and Vermont also have villages, which are smaller communities lying within
891-463: The town meeting form of government with a city form. Maine has a third type of township called a plantation , which previously existed in other New England states, that has more limited self-governance than other New England towns. In portions of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, county subdivisions that are not incorporated are occasionally called townships, or by other terms such as " gore ", "grant", "location", or "purchase". The State of New York
924-533: The towns in which they are located. The Illinois Township Code includes provisions for a municipality coextensive with a township. Such a municipality is known variously as a coterminous city and a coterminous municipality, and the township is called a coterminous township; the term "consolidated city-township" does not appear in either the Township Code or the Municipal Code. The Township Code provides for
957-584: The township government greater power), but this is not reflected in the township's name. In Ohio , a city or village is overlaid onto a township unless it withdraws by establishing a paper township . Where the paper township does not extend to the city limits, property owners pay taxes for both the township and municipality, though these overlaps are sometimes overlooked by mistake. Ten other states also allow townships and municipalities to overlap. In Kansas , some civil townships provide services such as road maintenance and fire protection services not provided by
990-475: The township some home rule powers similar to cities. In Wisconsin , civil townships are known as " towns " rather than townships, but they function essentially the same as in neighboring states. In Minnesota , state statute refers to such entities as towns yet requires them to have a name in the form " Name Township". In both documents and conversation, "town" and "township" are used interchangeably. Minnesota townships can be either Non-Urban or Urban (giving
1023-778: Was $ 53,125. Since 1993, Trenary has played host to the Trenary Outhouse Classic. This event is held on the last Saturday of February. The event brings in around 4000 spectators. Outhouse race participants build outhouses of their own design mounted on skis. The outhouse must have a toilet seat , roll of toilet paper, and skis. Participants push the outhouse 500 feet (150 m) and across the finish line. The race takes place on Trenary's Main Street. There are several categories to win in, including kids age 6–10, kids 16–20, adults 21–35, adults 36-49 and adults 50 and over. Civil township Township functions are generally overseen by
Mathias Township, Michigan - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-441: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.70. In the township the population was spread out, with 19.4% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males. In 2000,
1089-453: Was introduced into the townships by settlers from New England in 1760 with the help of a provincial statute. However, the statute was disallowed by the King in 1761, and direct democracy was replaced in the townships that had adopted it by the quarter sessions. Acts in 1855 and 1856 provided for the incorporation of self-governing townships, but only Yarmouth partook in incorporating, and abandoned
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