The first Township in the Braidwood area, organized in 1850, was named “Clinton” and was then the largest in Will county. It extended six miles North from and Twelve miles East and West along the Will-Kankakee line, South and West of the Kankakee River.
In 1875, the Will county Board of supervisors divided the large, unwieldly “Clinton” Township into two Townships, giving the name “Reid”, later changed to “Reed”, to the portions 3 miles wide and 6 miles long in the extreme southwestern part of the county. The name “Custer” was given to the Eastern Portion of the old “Clinton” Township. Thus Reed Township, once the largest in Will County, became the smallest in the county.
Source: Donna, Modesto Joseph. The Braidwood Story.