On April 8, 1837, the settlers visited Clinton Township and decided upon locating there. On the 9th, with the aid for Tebo and his little canoe, they recrossed Turtle Creek with their effects and commenced a settlement in the name of the Jefferson Prairie Company and chose the name in honor of their old home. This first settlement was in the area now known as Clinton Corners, the intersection of Highway X and Highway J. At the first town meeting, the name Clinton was suggested in remembrance of DeWitt Clinton, New York's Governor.ย
The Town of Turtle is bordered by Beloit to the west, the town of LaPrairie to the North, and the town of Clinton to the east and the Illinois state line to the South. The township was named for the Turtle Indians, a Winnebago tribe of Native Americans, whose totem was the Turtle.ย
In 1832 Abraham LINCOLN camped along the Turtle Creek in what later became the town of Turtle while scouting for Chief Black Hawk under Captain Jacob EARLY. While the earliest titles to land in the town of Turtle are dated February 18, 1839, the official date that the Town of Turtle was organized is February 2, 1846. The town was made up of what had been part of Beloit, Clinton and some of LaPrairie.ย