I have a project of a Town and a City. They both adjoin each other and have the same name but are different because of the clasification of Town vs. City.
The Town was incorporated in 1892 and the City was incorporated in 1893.
Around 1908 the Town's records end and the City has them in their possession. It appears the Town leaders walked away from their duties and the Town government disappeared. Since then it has been "taken care of" by the City. I can't find anything that the Town corporation was disolved or even merged with the City transferring it's assets to the City. The City just started to claim the territory and tax the 5 private land owners of whom own lots in blocks. The City claims they own the remaining lots and blocks of the 696 acre townsite. That is another story.
What I'm trying to come to terms with is the difference between a Town and a City. Some research tends to lean towards the number of inhabitants defines the difference in the terms Town or City with the Town being the lesser in population. At one brief point, the Town had a population of around 10k and the City was just some brothels and saloons owned by the mining companies.
What would be your thoughts on the difference?
SD
Town vs. City> Here in MA
"The distinction between a "city" and "town" as defined in Massachusetts law is primarily related to the form of government that the municipality has chosen. A town is governed under the selectmen and Town Meeting or Representative Town Meeting form of government. A city has a council or board of aldermen (and may or may not have a mayor, a city manager, or both)." (per Wiki anyway)
Town vs. City - VA
In Virginia we have basically 3 (or) 4 categories of local government.
City (First Class or Second Class) - Totally independent of counties & towns for day to day governance, schools, etc. However, a second class city will share courts & sheriff with the county. A first class city has their own. But both will also have a police department that is not sheriff. In my home county Harrisonburg is 2nd class & the county seat. The county is 1000 square miles and the city is 30 square miles.
Towns - have their own local government, maybe police, but no courts, no schools, welfare, etc. They are actually part of the county (citizens are considered citizens of both). My home county has 7 incorporated towns.
County - everything (including towns) that is not city. Full services like a city.
Generally cities are larger than towns, but not always. And there are very specific rules in the state code defining who and what they are.
Towns and cities, if they are actual municipalities, are, in theory, created by states and are whatever the state says they are. (This might not be entirely true in practice; in colonial times some Vermont towns decided to stick with New Hampshire and resisted New Yorkers who had been issued duplicate town charters by the governor of New York. More recently, Killington voted to secede from Vermont and join New Hampshire, but both state legislatures ignored the Killington vote.)
Some places, such as California, don't have any such things as towns. Either a place is within a city, or it is governed directly by the county.
So you need to find out how things are done in your state.
Town vs. City - VA
> In Virginia we have basically 3 (or) 4 categories of local government.
>
> City (First Class or Second Class) - Totally independent of counties & towns for day to day governance, schools, etc. However, a second class city will share courts & sheriff with the county. A first class city has their own. But both will also have a police department that is not sheriff. In my home county Harrisonburg is 2nd class & the county seat. The county is 1000 square miles and the city is 30 square miles.
>
> Towns - have their own local government, maybe police, but no courts, no schools, welfare, etc. They are actually part of the county (citizens are considered citizens of both). My home county has 7 incorporated towns.
>
> County - everything (including towns) that is not city. Full services like a city.
>
> Generally cities are larger than towns, but not always. And there are very specific rules in the state code defining who and what they are.
Dave,
Blacksburg and Vinton used to be the only towns in VA with satellite courts (General District only also, I think). Blacksburg's is now shut down and I don't know about Vinton's (Roanoke County). Vinton is also the only town in Roanoke County, but the County seat is Salem, which is now an independent city since 1969 (again, I think). I work in Radford City occasionally. Quite small. Galax is a weird city. They only have about 3 of their own departments and their land records and courts depend on which side of the river you are on. Records from the west side of Galax are in Grayson County, records from the east side are in Carroll. I'm kinda glad I don't work down there.
The town of Windsor is just north of santa rosa in Northern California . It specifically incorporated as a town. Check the appropriate filing for your community, you may be surprised.
In Wisconsin a Town is basically the PLSS surveyed township. Wikipedia has a good description.
Town vs. City> Here in MA
New Jersey is similar. The type of municipality is has more to due with the type of government. In New Jersey there are Cities, Towns, Townships, Villages and Boroughs. The County I live in, Bergen, has 70 Municipalities, all with their own police, public works, zoning, schools (although some of the High Schools are regional). New Jersey is very much a home rule State.
I don't see what State you're in.
You had me curious, and I looked it up in wikipedia for my state. There are statutes here that describe a "statute Town" or a "Statute City"....some places are towns that are larger than some cities. Some are labeled "City" in the name that are statute towns (Garden City and Lake City are statutory towns) Generally there is a size difference, but that is not what sets the parameters. It is how they incorporated, and that dictates a little about how they are governed.
I did some surveying in a "townsite" of "maysville" that was laid out by the GLO prior to the PLSS system being laid out in that area. I can't find that townsite in Wikipedia. I assume it dissolved as a "town" way back when, and just became the equivalent of a subdivision. However, section lines stop at the townsite limits and the sections are/were "lotted" accordingly.
I'm glad you posted. It was very interesting to see some of the differences. (also "home-rule minicipalities").
When I looked for a "town" close to where I live, it wasn't listed on the listing of incorporated towns and cities. I looked up the specific name of the minicipality and they said it was a nonincorporated "census designated place". They aren't really towns with town councils or mayors or the like I guess. Here is what wiki said (in part) about them.
A census designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places, such as cities, towns, and villages. CDPs are populated areas that lack separate municipal government, but which otherwise physically resemble incorporated places.
"Blend" by where I live has a sign at the beginning of it's "limits", and you have to slow down on the highway through there.
This is one of those great questions where the answer seems to be: It depends.
I don't know if we have a statute addressings "towns". There are first, second and third class cities, townships and counties. I'm sure there is a minimum number of residents required in order to request a separate post office designation. That number is probably high enough as to qualify the place as a city. As to old placenames, I really don't know. I know we have an incorporated city in my county that has a population of about 30 people today. I'm sure it was more like 200-300 once upon a time.
We generally say we are going into town for something despite the "town" technically being a city.
In Louisiana , it is designated by population by charter laws.
The city where I live has a population a few hundred shy of 9k.
Also the Town of Mammoth Lakes was incorporated as a Town circa late 1980s.
The Town of Mammoth Lakes is two times bigger than the City of Bishop.
I don't think there is a functional difference under California Law but I haven't researched it.
Then we have Townsites...