Burton Township, McHenry County, Illinois


Burton Township is the smallest in area in McHenry County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,003 and it contained 1,758 housing units.
Burton Township was first settled by Englishmen in 1836, and the name English Prairie was given it. Later settlers called the township Benton, but upon it being learned that there was already a post office and township of Benton in Illinois, the name was changed to Burton on December 28, 1850. The reason Burton Township is so uncommonly small is because its first residents decided to break away from Richmond Township to its west. The reason for this was a "Hatfields vs. McCoys" type of feud in the 1840s over alleged township mismanagement and higher taxes in Richmond.
The Burton settlers opted out and even tried to have adjoining Lake County absorb them into its eastern neighbor, Antioch Township, but Antioch Township had just consolidated Cooper Township into itself, and since Burton Township was situated in another county, a special law needed to be passed in Springfield to affect that change.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Demographics