Maine Townships: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:17, 27 February 2013

United States Maine Maine townships

Unorganized territory. In Maine a township is an unorganized territory roughly the size of a town, but usually with a relatively smaller population.

Fewer records. No town meetings are held, and no town meeting minutes are kept in townships. It would be unusual for a township to have its own record keeping official. The township's county should have the township's land records. Nearby towns in the county also may keep a few historical facts about people who live in neighboring townships.

Changes in status. Townships can decide to organize into a town government, or a plantation. Also, from time to time, towns may choose to become townships. If a former town has a declining population, and its citizens decide to discontinue as a town, they stop holding town meetings and the former town's records are usually transferred to a nearby functioning town.

Names. Some townships have names such as • Fletchers Landing, • Big W, or • Unity Township. Other townships are known more by their numbers such as • Township 4 R17 West of the Easterly Line of the State, • Township 37 Middle Division, or • Township 6 North of Weld.

Township groups. In some Maine counties townships are listed within larger geographic locations such as

Other unorganized territories. In addition to township, an unorganized territory of Maine similar to a township in its government and record keeping characteristics may also be called a gore, grant, island, patent, purchase, strip, surplus, territory, or tract.

Nevertheless, in Maine plantations are between towns and townships in their level of government organization.

Statistics. Maine has

References[edit | edit source]

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-A '''township''' in Maine is an unorganized (unincorporated) territory roughly the size of a town, but usually with a relatively low population. Populated coastal islands outside municipal borders are also usually included in the list of townships. Most services for townships are handled by the state government.<ref name="Muni">Municipalities (section) of "Maine" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine (accessed 27 February 2013).</ref><br><br>
-'''Fewer records. ''' No town meetings are held, and no town meeting minutes are kept in townships. It would be unusual for a township to have its own record-keeping official. The county registrar of deeds should have the township's land records. Nearby towns in the county also '''''may ''''' keep a few historical facts about people who have lived in neighboring townships.
+'''Unorganized territory.&nbsp;''' In Maine a '''township''' is an unorganized territory roughly the size of a town, but usually with a relatively smaller population.
-'''Changes in status. ''' Townships can decide to organize into a [[Maine Town Records|town]] government, or a [[Maine Plantations|plantation]]. Also, from time to time, towns may choose to become townships. If a former town has a declining population, and its citizens decide to discontinue as a town, they stop holding town meetings and the former town's records are usually transferred to a nearby functioning town.
+'''Fewer records.&nbsp;''' No town meetings are held, and no town meeting minutes are kept in townships. It would be unusual for a township to have its own record keeping official. The township's county should have the township's land records. Nearby towns in the county also '''''may&nbsp;''''' keep a few historical facts about people who live in neighboring townships.
-'''Names and numbers. ''' Some townships have names ''such as'' • [[Hancock County, Maine Genealogy|Fletchers Landing]], • [[Somerset County, Maine Genealogy|Big W]], or • [[Unity Plantation, Maine|Unity Township]]. Other townships are known more by their numbers ''such as'' • [[Piscataquis County, Maine Genealogy|Island No. 63]], • [[Somerset County, Maine Genealogy|Township 4 R17 West of the Easterly Line of the State]], • [[Washington County, Maine Genealogy|Township 37 Middle Division]], or • [[Berlin, Maine|Township 6 North of Weld]]. Many of Maine's unorganized territories are known by '''''both ''''' a name ''and '' a number, ''for example'' [[Lang Plantation, Maine|Township 2 R3 WBKP (Lang Township)]].
+'''Changes in status.&nbsp;''' Townships can decide to organize into a town government, or a plantation. Also, from time to time, towns may choose to become townships. If a former town has a declining population, and its citizens decide to discontinue as a town, they stop holding town meetings and the former town's records are usually transferred to a nearby functioning town.
-'''Township groups. ''' Some counties of Maine list their townships within larger geographic locations ''such as '' [[Washington County, Maine Genealogy|East Central Washington]], [[Oxford County, Maine Genealogy|North Oxford]], or [[Somerset County, Maine Genealogy|Seboomook Lake]]. Moreover, in some counties, a few of the townships are split into two of the groupings (as shown on such counties' FamilySearch Wiki maps by a bright-green line).
+'''Names.&nbsp;''' Some townships have names ''such as'' • [[Hancock County, Maine|Fletchers Landing]], • [[Somerset County, Maine|Big W]], or • [[Kennebec County, Maine|Unity Township]]. Other townships are known more by their numbers ''such as'' • [[Somerset County, Maine|Township 4 R17 West of the Easterly Line of the State]], • [[Washington County, Maine|Township 37 Middle Division]], or • [[Franklin County, Maine|Township 6 North of Weld]].
-'''Other unorganized territories. ''' In addition to being labelled a township, sometimes an unorganized territory of Maine may instead be called a gore, grant, island, patent, purchase, strip, surplus, territory, or tract. Such units are similar to a township in their low population, lack of local-government, and lack of organized record-keeping.
+'''Township groups.&nbsp;''' In some Maine counties townships are listed within larger geographic locations ''such as&nbsp;''
-'''Plantations. ''' Nevertheless, in Maine [[Maine Plantations|plantations]] are between towns and townships in their level of government organization. For examples of Maine plantations and their records, see [[Coplin Plantation, Maine|Coplin Plantation]], [[Matinicus, Maine|Matinicus]], or [[Monhegan, Maine|Monhegan]]. Look for Maine plantation records the same way you look for [[Maine Town Records|Maine town records]].
+'''Other unorganized territories.&nbsp;''' In addition to township, an unorganized territory of Maine similar to a township in its government and record keeping characteristics may also be called a gore, grant, island, patent, purchase, strip, surplus, territory, or tract.
-'''Statistics. ''' Maine has about 425 townships (unincorporated territories), 34 plantations<ref>"List of plantations in Maine" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plantations_in_Maine (accessed 27 February 2013).</ref>, 454 towns or cities, and three Indian reservations. The unorganized township territories include slightly over half the land area of Maine.<ref name="Muni" />
+Nevertheless, in Maine plantations are between towns and townships in their level of government organization.
-'''Official map and list.''' The Maine Revenue Service provides the best online [https://www.maine.gov/revenue/taxes/property-tax/unorganized-territory/tax-maps-valuation-listings statewide township map] and corresponding county-by-county [https://www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/ut_map_ref.pdf list of townships].
+'''Statistics.&nbsp;''' Maine has
-== References  ==
+=== References  ===
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