View source for Civil township

{{short description|Common form of local government}}
{{distinguish|survey township}}
{{Administrative divisions of the United States}}
A '''civil township''' is a widely used unit of [[local government in the United States]] that is subordinate to a [[County (United States)|county]], most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term '''town''' is used in [[New England town|New England]], [[Political subdivisions of New York State#Town|New York]], as well as [[Political subdivisions of Wisconsin#Town|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 [[Wiktionary:autonomy|autonomy]] vary in each [[U.S. state|state]]. Civil townships are distinct from [[survey township]]s, but in states that have both, the boundaries often coincide, especially in Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, and may completely geographically subdivide a county. The [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] classifies civil townships as [[minor civil division]]s. 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).

Township functions are generally overseen by a governing board (the name varies from state to state) and a clerk, trustee, or mayor (in [[Township (New Jersey)|New Jersey]] and the [[metro township]]s of [[Utah]]). Township officers frequently include [[justice of the peace]], [[Numbered highways in the United States|road commissioner]], [[Assessor (property)|assessor]], and [[constable]], in addition to [[Surveying|surveyor]]. In the 20th century, many townships also added a township [[Administrator of the Government|administrator]] or [[supervisor]] to the officers as an [[executive (government)|executive]] for the board. In some cases, townships run local [[Library|libraries]], [[Old age|senior citizen]] services, youth services, [[Disability|disabled]] citizen services, and [[cemetery]] services, besides emergency assistance. In some states, a township and a municipality that is coterminous with that township may wholly or partially [[Coterminous municipality|consolidate]] their operations.

==Midwestern and central==
{{See also|Indiana township trustee|Political subdivisions of Wisconsin|Charter township}}

[[File:Madison Township Hall.jpg|thumb|220px|Madison Township Hall in [[Madison Township, Richland County, Ohio|Madison Township]], [[Richland County, Ohio|Richland County]], [[Ohio]]]]
Depending on the state, the township government has varying degrees of authority.

In the [[Upper Midwest]]ern states near the [[Great Lakes]], civil townships (known in [[Michigan]] as general law townships<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.michigantownships.org/whatisatwp.asp |title=What is a Township? |publisher=[[Michigan Township Association]] |date=2006-12-05 |access-date=2007-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929021905/http://www.michigantownships.org/whatisatwp.asp |archive-date=2006-09-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 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 trustee]]s, 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 a single [[Indiana township trustee|township trustee]] and a three-member board.

Civil townships in these states are generally not [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]], and nearby cities may [[annexation|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),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/historical/miconstitution1850.htm|title=CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN|website=www.legislature.mi.gov|access-date=May 25, 2020}}</ref> and some can become reformulated as [[charter township]]s, a status intended to protect against annexation from nearby municipalities and which grants the township some [[home rule]] powers similar to cities. In [[Wisconsin]], civil townships are known as "[[Political subdivisions of Wisconsin#Town|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".{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} In both documents and conversation, "town" and "township" are used interchangeably. Minnesota townships can be either [[Non-urban township|Non-Urban]] or [[Urban township|Urban]] (giving the township government greater power), but this is not reflected in the township's name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=368.01#stat.368.01|title=Minnesota Statutes 368.01: Powers of Certain Metropolitan Area Towns|access-date=2008-06-04|archive-date=2013-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117093144/https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=368.01#stat.368.01|url-status=dead}}</ref> Similarly, in [[Ohio]], some townships qualify for [[Urban township (Ohio)|urban township]] status, affording limited home rule government. 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,<ref name="MedinaCo 2005">{{cite web|title=Commissioners Meeting|location=[[Medina, Ohio]]|publisher=[[Medina County, Ohio]]|date=2005-05-23|access-date=2009-10-22|page=5|url=http://www.co.medina.oh.us/commiss/CommissMinutes/May%2023%202005.pdf|quote=Lynda Bowers, Lafayette Township Trustee, noted that we already have property that is dual citizenship and they pay taxes in 2 places.  There is [[Chippewa Lake, Ohio|Chippewa Lake]] in [[Lafayette Township, Medina County, Ohio|Lafayette Township]], [[Westfield Center, Ohio|Westfield Village]] in [[Westfield Township, Medina County, Ohio|Westfield Township]] and [[Lodi, Ohio|Lodi]] in [[Harrisville Township, Medina County, Ohio|Harrisville Township]].|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919182509/http://www.co.medina.oh.us/commiss/CommissMinutes/May%2023%202005.pdf|archive-date=2008-09-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> though these overlaps are sometimes overlooked by mistake.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=The State ex. rel. St. Clair Township Board of Trustees et al. v. The City of Hamilton et al.|date=2019|reporter=Ohio|pinpoint=717|url=https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2019/2019-Ohio-717.pdf#page=4}}</ref> Ten other states also allow townships and municipalities to overlap.<ref name="Census townships">{{cite web|title=Municipalities and Townships|work=Lists & Structure of Governments|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=2009-06-08|access-date=2009-10-22|url=https://www.census.gov/govs/go/municipal_township_govs.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023090143/http://www.census.gov/govs/go/municipal_township_govs.html|archive-date=2010-10-23|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In [[Kansas]], some civil townships provide services such as road maintenance and fire protection services not provided by the county.

==Northeastern states==<!-- This section is linked from [[Hale's Location, New Hampshire]] -->
{{see also|New England town|Political subdivisions of New York}}{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Cattaraugus County, New York Divisions.png|thumb|220px|Map of [[Cattaraugus County, New York]] showing municipal and town organization]]

=== New England and New York ===
In [[New England]] and [[New York (state)|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 [[city|cities]], most of which are towns whose residents have voted to replace the town meeting form of government with a city form. Maine has a third type of township called a [[Plantation (Maine)|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 (surveying)|gore]]", "grant", "location", or "purchase".

The [[New York (state)|State of New York]] 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 ([[The Bronx|Bronx County/The Bronx]], [[Brooklyn|Kings County/Brooklyn]], [[Manhattan|New York County/Manhattan]], [[Queens|Queens County/Queens]], and [[Staten Island|Richmond County/Staten Island]]). As in New England, the term "town" equates to "township" in most other states. Additionally, New Yorkers colloquially use the term "township" to mean "town". Townships and [[Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet|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 [[List of cities in New York|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 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 [[borough (Connecticut)|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 the community of [[Groton Long Point]]) and one non-consolidated city.

===Pennsylvania and New Jersey===
A [[Township (Pennsylvania)|Pennsylvania township]] is a unit of local government, responsible for services such as police departments, local road and street [[Maintenance, repair and operations|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&ndash;135&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>).

A [[Township (New Jersey)|New Jersey township]] is similar, in that it is a form of municipal government equal in status to a [[Village (New Jersey)|village]], [[Town (New Jersey)|town]], [[Borough (New Jersey)|borough]], or [[City (New Jersey)|city]], and provides similar services to a Pennsylvania township, and varies in size from one-tenth ([[Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey|Shrewsbury Twp.]]) to one hundred ([[Jackson Township, New Jersey|Jackson Twp.]]) square miles.

==Southern states==
[[File:Jefferson County Arkansas 2010 Township Map large.jpg|thumb|Townships in [[Jefferson County, Arkansas|Jefferson County]], [[Arkansas]] as of the [[2010 United States census|2010 U.S. census]]]]
In the [[Southern United States|Southern U.S.]], outside cities and towns there is generally no local government other than the county.

===Arkansas and North Carolina===
[[List of Arkansas townships|Arkansas townships]] are 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 [[United States census|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 is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/block/2010/cousub/dc10blk_st05_cousub.html#J |title=Arkansas: 2010 Census Block Maps - County Subdivision |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=May 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528050635/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/block/2010/cousub/dc10blk_st05_cousub.html#J |archive-date=May 28, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[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 is divided into townships as mandated since the [[Constitution of North Carolina|North Carolina Constitution]] of 1868. Some urbanized counties such as [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenburg County]] ([[Charlotte, North Carolina|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 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, Durham County, North Carolina|Lebanon Township]] in [[Durham County, North Carolina#Townships|Durham County]] gives its name to the [http://lebanonvfd.org/ Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department]), for real estate purposes such as categorizing land deeds, [[Cadastre|land survey]]s and other real estate documents, and for voter registration purposes.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} 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.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} However, there is no government per se at the township level in North Carolina, and there are no elected or appointed offices associated with townships.

==Western states==
===Utah===
Between 2015 and 2024, [[Utah]] had a form of civil township called a [[metro township]]. Each metro township had a mayor,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/02/16/salt-lake-county-township-leaders-soon-may-be-called-mayor|title=With a stroke of his pen, Utah governor gives township leaders the title of mayor|website=www.sltrib.com|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> council, and a budget, and could not be annexed without its permission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.magnametrotownship.org/community/page/what-metro-township|title=What is a Metro Township? {{!}} Magna Utah|website=www.magnametrotownship.org|access-date=2020-02-22|archive-date=2021-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613053218/https://www.magnametrotownship.org/community/page/what-metro-township|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its powers of taxation were limited, and it had to contract with other municipalities or municipal shared-service districts<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://msd.utah.gov|title=Greater Salt Lake Municipal Services District|website=msd.utah.gov|access-date=2020-03-19}}</ref> for most municipal services like police.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://updsl.org/page_about.php|title=Meet the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake|website=updsl.org|access-date=2020-03-18}}</ref> In May 2024 the five metro townships, all located in [[Salt Lake County]], were incorporated as a cities or towns as a result of Utah's House Bill 35.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc4.com/news/politics/salt-lake-co-township-to-cities-bill-heads-to-cox-desk/|title=Salt Lake Co.'s 5 metro townships on track to become cities as bill heads to Cox's desk|website=ABC4 Utah|last=Sharp|first=Jonathon|date=February 6, 2024|access-date=December 5, 2024}}</ref>

== States with civil towns or townships ==
[[Image:US States with Township Governments.svg|thumb|350px|States that have subdivided counties completely or partially into towns or townships.{{needs update|date=May 2023}}
{{legend|#994444|Currently uses towns}}
{{legend|#336699|Currently uses townships}}
{{legend|#9966AA|Currently varies}}
{{legend|#98BEE3|Formerly used townships}}
{{legend|#D7B8E0|Formerly varied}}]]
As of 2012, there were 16,360 organized town or township governments in the following 21 states:<ref name="www2.census.gov">United States Census Bureau. ''[http://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/2012isd.pdf 2012 Census of Governments: Individual State Descriptions: 2012]'', Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, p. viii.</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
*[[List of towns in Connecticut|Connecticut]]
*[[List of townships in Illinois|Illinois]]
*[[List of townships in Indiana|Indiana]]
*[[List of townships in Kansas|Kansas]]
*[[List of towns in Maine|Maine]]
*[[List of towns in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]
*[[List of townships in Michigan|Michigan]]
*[[List of townships in Minnesota|Minnesota]]
*[[List of townships in Missouri|Missouri]]
*[[Nebraska]]
*[[List of towns in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]
*[[List of townships in New Jersey|New Jersey]]
*[[List of towns in New York|New York]]
*[[List of townships in North Dakota|North Dakota]]
*[[List of townships in Ohio|Ohio]]
*[[List of townships in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]
*[[List of towns in Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]
*[[List of townships in South Dakota|South Dakota]]
*[[List of municipalities in Utah|Utah]]
*[[List of towns in Vermont|Vermont]]
*[[List of towns in Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]
{{div col end}}

== States without civil townships ==
There were 29 states without organized town or township governments as of 2012:<ref name="www2.census.gov"/>
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Alabama]]
* [[Alaska]]
* [[Arizona]]
* [[List of Arkansas townships|Arkansas]]
* [[California]]
* [[Colorado]]
* [[Delaware]]
* [[Florida]]
* [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
* [[Hawaii]]
* [[Idaho]]
* [[Iowa]]
* [[Kentucky]]
* [[Louisiana]]
* [[Maryland]]
* [[Mississippi]]
* [[Montana]]
* [[Nevada]]
* [[New Mexico]]
* [[North Carolina]]
* [[Oklahoma]]
* [[Oregon]]
* [[South Carolina]]
* [[Tennessee]]
* [[Texas]]
* [[Virginia]]
* [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
* [[West Virginia]]
* [[Wyoming]]
{{div col end}}

== States which once had but no longer have civil townships ==
* California had townships at statehood. County boards of supervisors had the authority to create, consolidate, or abolish townships as late as the 1920s.<ref>{{cite court|reporter=Cal. Jur.|opinion=45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77ExAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA456}}</ref> ({{hatnote inline|See [[:Category:Former townships in California|Category:Former townships in California]].}}) A system of township [[Tax assessment|assessor]]s was established in some counties,<ref>{{cite court|litigants=The People of the State of California v. Edwin Hunt|vol=41|reporter=Cal.|opinion=435|court=[[Supreme Court of California|Cal.]]|date=1871|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9HJCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA436}}</ref> but under the [[California Constitutional Conventions#Sacramento Convention of 1878–79|1879 Constitution]], townships were limited to judicial and law enforcement districts rather than administrative ones.<ref>{{cite journal|title=California Counties: Second-Rate Localities or Ready-Made Regional Governments?|first=Jared|last=Eigerman|work=[[UC Law Constitutional Quarterly|Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly]]|volume=26|issue=3|date=1999|page=640|issn=0094-5617|url=https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly/vol26/iss3/2/}}</ref> As of 1967, every county was divided into townships for electoral purposes,<ref>{{cite book|title=1967 Census of Governments|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=1968|page=307|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQZL3MzrVc4C&pg=PA307|via=Google Books}}</ref> but this was no longer the case by 1977.<ref>{{cite book|title=1977 Census of Governments: Governmental Organization|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=1978|page=349|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4onlEAiwM0C&pg=PA349|via=Google Books}}</ref> [[San Joaquin County, California|San Joaquin County]]'s legal code continues to define that county's townships, although it does not delegate any powers or responsibilities to them.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Townships|chapter-url=https://library.municode.com/ca/san_joaquin_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2COAD_DIV9TO|title=Ordinance Code of San Joaquin County 1995|publisher=[[Municipal Code Corporation]]|date=November 2, 2020|access-date=July 21, 2021|url=https://library.municode.com/ca/san_joaquin_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=ORCOSAJOCO1995}}</ref>
* Iowa had 1,608 townships in 1942. By 1952, their responsibilities and functions had essentially been absorbed by their counties, were considered "vestigial", and were no longer counted.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-agWFTaVWrIC&pg=RA3-PA9|title=State and Local Government Special Studies: 1948-1961|date=1982|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce [and] U.S. Department of Labor|language=en}}</ref> Townships exist in Iowa, but are counted as administrative divisions of their counties and are not counted as having separate governments by the United States Census Bureau.
* [[List of Oklahoma townships|Oklahoma]] had civil townships statewide upon statehood. On August 5, 1913, Oklahoma voters passed the Oklahoma Township Amendment, also known as State Question 58. This allowed the creation or abolishment of townships on a county by county basis.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_Township_Government,_State_Question_58_(August_1913)|title=Oklahoma Township Government, State Question 58 (August 1913) - Ballotpedia|access-date=2017-11-03|language=en-US}}</ref> By the mid-1930s, all counties had voted to abolish them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ok.gov/wagonercounty/About_Wagoner_County/History_of_Wagoner_County/1928_-_1937/index.html|title=Wagoner County - 1928 - 1937|website=www.ok.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-11-02}}</ref> Their former names and boundaries were used for United States census counting purposes and census documentation through 1960, after which Census Counting Divisions (CCDs) were used.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dougloudenback.com/census/1960census_oklahoma_3.pdf|title=Number of inhabitants - Oklahoma (1960)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326150204/http://www.dougloudenback.com/census/1960census_oklahoma_3.pdf|archive-date=2017-03-26|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dougloudenback.com/census/1970census_oklahoma.pdf|title=Number of inhabitants - Oklahoma (1970)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326125411/http://www.dougloudenback.com/census/1970census_oklahoma.pdf|archive-date=2017-03-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* South Carolina had 2 townships in 1952, those of [[Folly Island]] and [[Sullivan's Island, South Carolina|Sullivan's Island]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-agWFTaVWrIC&pg=RA4-PA71|title=State and Local Government Special Studies: 1948-1961|date=1982|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce [and] U.S. Department of Labor|language=en}}</ref>
* The 1870 Constitution of Virginia required the division of counties into townships, but an amendment in 1874 converted those townships into magisterial districts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi04143.xml|title=A Guide to the Frederick County (Va.) Township Records, 1871-1875 Frederick County (Va.) Township Records, 1871-1875 1098656, 1098661, 1099105, 1018039|website=ead.lib.virginia.edu|access-date=May 25, 2020}}</ref>
* Washington had 70 townships in 1952, in only Spokane and Whatcom counties, for administration of local roads.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-agWFTaVWrIC&pg=RA2-PA81|title=State and Local Government Special Studies: 1948-1961|date=1982|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce [and] U.S. Department of Labor|language=en}}</ref>

==Canada==
{{Main|Township (Canada)}}
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 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 was introduced into the townships by settlers from New England in 1760 with the help of a provincial statute. However, the statute was [[Disallowance and reservation|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, Nova Scotia|Yarmouth]] partook in incorporating, and abandoned 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fergusson |first1=C. Bruce |author-link=Charles Bruce Fergusson |title=Local Government in Nova Scotia |date=1961 |publisher=The Institute of Public Affairs, Dalhousie University |location=Halifax |url=https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/11024/FergussonLocalGovNS.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=24 July 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Township (United States)]]
* [[Survey township]]
* [[Charter township]]
* [[Metro township]]
* [[County (United States)]]
* [[Political divisions of the United States]]
* [[Minor civil division]]
* [[Hundred (country subdivision)]]
* [[Township]] for other divisions called "township"
* [[Unorganized territory (disambiguation)|Unorganized territory]]
* [[List of subnational entities]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.natat.org/ National Association of Towns and Townships]
* U.S. Census Bureau, Geographic Areas Reference Manual - [https://web.archive.org/web/20130319061814/http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/pdfs/GARM/Ch8GARM.pdf Chapter 8: County Subdivisions]

{{Terms for types of country subdivisions}}
{{U.S. civil townships}}

[[Category:Townships in the United States]]
[[Category:Municipalities in the United States]]