Hello You can find all kinds of things doing research :) I live in the Netherlands where according to the laws of the country there are municipalities only. People speak of cities, villages and hamlets. Cities are those municipalities who got that privilege in the Middle Ages, for example the city of Eindhoven, where I live, got those rights in 1232. That privilege has nothing to do with the population of a municipality. For example, The Hague, the political capital of The Netherlands, is historically a village, but people speak of the city of The Hague. Sorry for this digression. It's because of the terms 'city of East Dubuque' and 'township of Menominee' I found. I know Illinois is a country like the Netherlands, Jo Daviess is a county as I think a province is in the Netherlands. East Dubuque as well as Menominee are municipalities, but what is the difference between a city, a village, a place and a township, all these terms I find on the Internet. Can anybody help me out with that? Thanks! Jan Melssen The Netherlands