The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other states. New England towns are often governed by town meeting. Virtually all corporate municipalities in New England are based on the town model; statutory forms based on the concept of a compact populated place, which is prevalent elsewhere in the U.S., are uncommon. County government in New England states is typically weak, sometimes even non-existent; for example, Connecticut and Rhode Island retain counties only as geographic subdivisions that have no governmental authority, while Massachusetts has abolished eight of fourteen county governments so far.
Read more about New England Town: Characteristics of The New England Town System, Historical Development, Other Types of Municipalities in New England, Unorganized Territory, List of New England Towns
Other articles related to "new england town, towns, town":
... incorporated as cities, 432 are incorporated as towns, and the remaining 34 are organized as plantations ... counties were entirely incorporated or organized at one time, but lost that status when a town disincorporated or a plantation surrendered its organization) ... Only about 1.3% of the state's population lives in areas not part of a town, city, or plantation ...
Famous quotes containing the words town and/or england:
“I do not speak with any fondness but the language of coolest history, when I say that Boston commands attention as the town which was appointed in the destiny of nations to lead the civilization of North America.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“In England we have come to rely upon a comfortable time-lag of fifty years or a century intervening between the perception that something ought to be done and a serious attempt to do it.”
—H.G. (Herbert George)