I think they are spotty on the east coast (they had to be somewhere in the east coast to provide a model), but in the old Northwest Territory (now OH/MI/IN/IL/WI), they were a basic unit of the original frontier allocation of land ... and the county seat was originally too far away to get to on a regular basis in a rural county, so the township was also the most local unit of government, with elected trustees.

For instance, originally the local country primary schools were township schools.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.