[3] The village of Berrien Springs is the only incorporated municipality within the township.

[4] Oronoko initially included what is now Lake Township, which was organized in 1846.

Another is that it is a variant spelling of Orinoco, the name of a South American river that was adopted with various spellings in other states besides Michigan: Oronoco, Minnesota, and Oronoque, Kansas.

Others believe the township was named after the literary character Oroonoko, which was also derived from the South American river.

A final possibility suggested by Vogel is that the name was taken from a variety of tobacco known as oronoco, orinoko, or oronooka.

[6][7] The St. Joseph River forms the eastern boundary of the township.

23.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.