Burton Township was first settled by Englishmen in 1836 who gave it the name English Prairie.

Later settlers called the township Benton, but after learning that there already was a post office and township of Benton in southern Illinois, the name was changed to Burton on December 28, 1850.

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.

This McHenry County, Illinois location article is a stub.