Township
The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town need be involved. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within a county.
- In eastern Canada a township is one form of the subdivision of a county. This is translated into French as Canton in Quebec.
- In western Canada townships exist only for the purpose of land division by the Dominion Land Survey and are not administrative units.
- In England the township has been long obsolete, but was a subdivision used to administer a large parish.
- In South Africa under Apartheid, a township was a residential development which confined Africans who lived near or worked in white-only communities. Soweto is the most well-known of these.
- In the United States the township is widely used as a unit of local government. It is a subdivision of a county, but may or may not apply within a city or incorporated town. The residents are self governing with respect to some taxes and services.
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Townships in the United States
The township is a local government unit within a county.
Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each State.
Townships are subsets of ranges. Townships generally include 36 numbered sections, counted north, and then east to west from the southeast corner of the township. Ranges and sections are generally numbered, townships are usually given names, for example, Plainfield Township or Smith Township.
Township functions are generally attended to by a board to trustees and a clerk. Township officers frequently include Justice of the Peace, road commissioner, assessor, constable, and surveyors. In the 20th century many townships also added a Township Administrator or Supervisor to the officers as an executive for the trustees. In some cases townships run local libraries, senior citizen services, youth services, disabled citizen services, emergency assistance and cemetery services.
Central and Western States
States formed after 1785 have townships based on a standard of 36 square miles. This is literally a square six miles (about 10 kilometers) on a side.
They were originally established to enable recording of deeds by a system more fully described as the Public Land Survey System. This system was first established in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
Michigan has a system were townships can incorporate to effectively form cities, these are called charter townships and have the same powers as cities.
In New England the term town is often substituted for township, although both may coexist. The town proper is the principal settlement within the township, and they usually share the same proper name. Other villages and cities with other names may coexist in the same township.
Townships were established based on convenient geographical boundaries and vary in size from six to forty square miles (10-74 km˛).
See also: County, political science, List of subnational entities, minor civil division, unorganized territoryNortheastern States
Central Atlantic States
In the central Atlantic states, the township is a unit of local government responsible for services such as local road and street maintenance outside of towns or boroughs.
