Tom Township is a township in Benton County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. [1]
A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to refer to the equivalent of the civil township in these states. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both, the boundaries often coincide and may completely geographically subdivide a county. The U.S. Census Bureau classifies civil townships as minor civil divisions. Currently, there are 20 states with civil townships.
Benton County is a county located in the west central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 19,056 as of the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Warsaw. The county was organized January 3, 1835, and named for U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri.
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.
Tom Township was formed on April 2, 1842, taking its name from Tom Bishop, who was court clerk, when the township was organized. [2]
