| The formation of Orange County's Townships and School Districts |
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The township system was established by the federal military government in the South, including North Carolina, after the Civil War. It was based on a similar township system in place in Pennsylvania.
North Carolina's counties were to be divided into townships as mandated by Article VII of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868 (specifically, sections three through nine). Section 4 states "...the said districts...shall be known as townships." This was/is often referred to as the "Township and County Commissioner Plan." North Carolina's townships are corporated 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). Some urbanized counties in North Carolina (such as Mecklenburg County) now number their townships (i.e. "Township 12") rather than using names. Townships within the state used to have 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 areas for administrative purposes: primarily for collecting county taxes, determining fire districts, 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 of any municipal limit (i.e. outside of incorporated 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 is currently no government per se at the township level in North Carolina, and there are no longer any elected or appointed offices associated with townships. Though the system in its entirety is not currently applied (and hasn't been for awhile, likely at least since the 1890s in Orange County), North Carolina townships were originally to biennally elect a "board of trustees" (i.e. trustees came up for election or reelection by popular vote every two years), supervised by the county commissioners, consisting of a clerk (who also acted as treasurer) and two justices of the peace. Their duties include the control of taxes, finances, and roads and bridges of the township. A school committee consisting of three people was also to be biennally elected. Basically, these township "boards" were supposed to answer to the county commissioners as sub-commissioners. Orange County's first election that dealt with the township system was held August 4, 1868. The next day, the newly-elected officials met at the courthouse and were qualified before the clerk of court and/or sworn in. As mandated, a report from each county (to include the boundaries and names of the districts/townships) was to be provided to the State General Assembly by January 1, 1869. The October 19, 1868 meeting of Orange County's commissioners ordered that: "Silas M. Link be employed to readjust the school districts of the County of Orange and lay the same off into townships and that he be allowed the sum of seventy-five dollars for his services, the work to be completed by November 15, 1868." Silas Link, the county surveyor, produced a map, dividing Orange County into school districts and townships, for the use of the county commissioners, State assembly, and federal government. Link divided the county into eight townships: Bingham, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, Durham, Hillsborough, Little River, Mangum, and Patterson townships. Link also subdivided the townships into school districts, for a total of 53 districts in the county. In the county commissioners' meeting of November 11, 1868, three school committeemen were appointed (until elections could be held) for each district. The township committees were responsible for maintaining a sufficient number of schools, for black and white students, and "at convenient localities," to satisfy demand. Link's map, Map of Orange County as laid of[f] into Districts for Common Schools and Townships, was the result of his tasking. Changes to the various townships in Orange County over time were: 1877: Mangum Township was divided at the Little River and Lebanon Township was formed from the southern part of that division. 1881: Durham County was formed from (mostly) Orange County; most of Durham, Little River, and Patterson townships were made part of Durham County, as were all of Lebanon and Mangum townships. The remnants of the townships that had been transferred to Durham County from Orange County (i.e. Durham, Little River, and Patterson) but that remained within Orange County were absorbed into existing Orange County townships. 1901: Cheeks Township was formed from western Hillsborough Township. 1901: Eno Township was formed from Little River and Hillsborough townships. Currently, there are seven townships in Orange County: Bingham, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, Cheeks, Eno, Hillsborough, and Little River. Sources: Link, Silas M. Map of Orange County as laid of[f] into Districts for Common Schools and Townships. 1868. McDuffie, D.G. Map of Durham County, North Carolina. 1881. David Southern, personal communication. (Thanks also to David for bringing the Silas Link map to my attention several years ago. The original map can be found at Duke University.) State of North Carolina. North Carolina Constitution of 1868. Article VII: Municipal Corporations, Sections 3-9. Tate, George W. Map of Orange County, N.C. 1891. United States, Bureau of the Census. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910: Population by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions, 1910. Government Printing Office, 1912. Wager, Paul W. History of the County Government. In Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager (eds.) Orange County, 1752-1952. Chapel Hill, 1953. 192-194, 202-203. Wikipedia. Civil Township. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_township}. The original, handwritten North Carolina Constitution of 1868 is available for viewing online in its entirety at www.secretary.state.nc.us The Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the State of North-Carolina, at Its Session 1868 is available online |
| [Created: 23 October 2011; Last updated: 10 February 2013] |
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