Township Organization
September 1, 1856, on application of three petitioners, signed by over
fifty legal voters of Rock Island County, praying for the question of
township organization; it was ordered by the court that the question be
submitted to the voters of said county, to vote for or against township
organization at the next November election. Abstract of votes given at
said election resulted as follows:
For township organization, 2314. Against township organization, 147.
Tuesday, December 2, 1856, the court appointed Lemuel Andrews, Nathaniel
Belcher and Flavel J. Whitney as commissioners to divide the county into
towns, in accordance with general assembly act for township organization,
passed February 17, 1851.
June 29, 30, and July 1, 1857, credentials were presented to the board of
supervisors by the representatives of the following named towns :
Rock Island, R. M. Marshall, Zachariah Cook;
Canoe Creek, I. H.
Marshall; Hampton, Lucius
Wells; Drury, Peter Demoss;
Edgington, James Baker;
Bowling, T. W. Vincent;
Coal Valley, Lewis Wilson;
Buffalo, O. H. P. Moore;
Port Byron, David S. Hobert; Walker,
Rinnah Wells; Fremont, A. S. Coe; Camden, H. J. Brunot; Moline, Jeremiah
Chamberlin; Cordova, George
Marshall.
September 18, 1857, by order of the board of supervisors, the names of the
following towns were changed:
Town of Camden, changed to
Black Hawk; town of Fremont, changed to Penn; town of Buffalo, changed
to Copper; town of Walker, changed to
Zuma.
January 6, 1858, town of Copper, changed to
Buffalo Prairie; town of Penn,
changed to Coe.
September 16, 1858, a part of
Edgington Township, was, through the prayer of petitioners-citizens of
Edgington Township-by order of the board of supervisors, named
Andalusia.
September 15, 1871, by petition of eighty-three legal voters of
Coal Valley Township, a
partition of the township was made, and named town of
Rural.
March 3, 1873, a petition was presented to the board of supervisors, by
Quincy McNeil and others, to annex that portion of the Town of
Black Hawk north of Rock
River to the Town of Rock Island.
December 12, 1873, by a vote of the board of supervisors-yeas, nine; nays,
eight; absent, one-it was ordered that the portion of
Black Hawk Township lying
north of Rock River and south of the corporate limits of the
City of Rock Island, be
detached from the Town of Black
Hawk and annexed to the Town of Rock Island.
December 14, 1877, the board of supervisors adopted a resolution that the
portion of Rock Island Township, south of the corporate limits of the
City
of Rock Island, extending to the north shore of Rock River, be created and
constituted the new Town of South
Rock Island, to take effect March 1, 1878. The corporate limits of the
City of Rock Island to be
the Town of Rock Island.
November 16, 1872. Upon petition by three-fourths of the voters and
property holders of the following tract to-wit: N. W. 1/4, Sec. 6, T. 17,
R. 1, 4th P. M., and W. fractional 1/2 (south of Sylvan Water) of Sec. 31,
T. 18, R. 1 W., 4th P. M., the city council annexed said territory to the
City of Rock Island, and
made it a part of the Fourth Ward of said city.
September 15, 1875, at a meeting of the board of supervisors the above
tract (a part of Moline Township), to simplify administration and
taxation, was annexed to the Town of Rock Island.
March 14, 1879. Adopted by the board of supervisors, that the Town of
Moline be sub-divided. The incorporated
City of Moline be organized as
the Town of Moline; the remaining territory of Moline Township to be
hereafter known as the Town
of South Moline.
Rock Island County, Illinois Genealogy
Source: Historic Rock Island County, pub. Kramer & Company, Rock Island, Illinois, 1908