CHAPTER L
RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT
634. TYPES OF RURAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—Rural local governments in the United States vary widely as between different sections of the country, but in general they are divisible into three types. These are:
(a) the town type, so common in New England;
(b) the county type, found chiefly in the South, the Southwest, and the Far West; and
(c) the mixed type of the Middle, Central, and Northwestern states. These three general types will be discussed in the order named.
A. THE TOWN TYPE
635. NATURE OF THE TOWN.—The basis of rural local government in New England is the town. [Footnote: The county exists in New England as an aggregation of towns. The county has acquired other functions, but it is still primarily a judicial district.] In general the New England town is an irregularly shaped area, varying in size from twenty to forty-five square miles. The area comprising the typical town is primarily rural, and generally contains one or more villages. Although the town is primarily a rural unit, the villages within its bounds may be so populous as to be classed as cities. Yet these populous communities may, as in the case of Brookline, Massachusetts, retain the town government. Other New England cities, such as New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, have continued the town organization separate from the city government.
636. ORIGIN OF THE TOWN.—Some authorities believe that the town type of rural local government can be traced back through English history to the early Teutonic tribes. Whether or not this is true, it is certain that the principle is an ancient one, and that when New England was first settled, the colonists grouped together in small compact communities, or towns, instead of scattering over larger areas.
637. WHY TOWN GOVERNMENT DEVELOPED IN NEW ENGLAND.—Several factors are responsible for the tendency of the settlers of early New England to draw together in towns. From the economic point of view, the barren nature of the soil rendered extensive farms impracticable, while, on the other hand, the opportunities for fishing and commerce encouraged small, compact settlements along the coast. The hostility of many of the New England Indians also discouraged sparse settlements and obliged the people to settle in close formation. Lastly, many of the New England colonists came to the New World as groups or communities which in their European homes had pivoted about a common church; in New England these people naturally preferred to live very near one another.