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History · Chester Township

34% of Chester Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: old-book passages.

0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Chester Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Chester Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Chester Township’s homes were built before 1962.
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Start Chester Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chester Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Chester Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chester Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Chester Township is located in Logan County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 654 and it contained 265 housing units. Chester Township changed its name from Madison Township sometime prior to 1921.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 669 to 654 (-2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Chester Township in 1886

Passages that mention Chester Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

There they remained but a short time, going thence to Bethel, in the same county, and coming to Logan County in September, 1836. They first settled in Chester Township, on section 25, where he purchased sixty acres of land, and resided till 1849, ll Digitized by Google
History of Logan County, Illinois1886 · page 545Read the page →
Read the text

There they remained but a short time, going thence to Bethel, in the same county, and coming to Logan County in September, 1836. They first settled in Chester Township, on section 25, where he purchased sixty acres of land, and resided till 1849, ll Digitized by Google

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Chester Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Chester township building 2026-07-182026Chester township building 2026-07-18
Famous people

Famous people close to Chester Township

Nobody well known was born in Chester Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Scott AltmanAmerican astronaut, aviator and test pilot · b. 1959
Brenda ChapmanAmerican animator, storyboard artist, and direc… · b. 1962
Terry KinneyAmerican actor · b. 1954
Brian CookAmerican basketball player · b. 1980
Edward Rell MadiganAmerican politician · b. 1936
John SchlittAmerican singer · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Chestervale
Gone or out of use
Allsopp Sand and Gravel PitmineDoolittle SchoolschoolFair SchoolschoolIndustry SchoolschoolLayman SchoolschoolMason AirportairportPegram SchoolschoolPleasant Grove SchoolschoolPrimm SchoolschoolSugar Grove Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chester Township
Bowers TemplemanDowning

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Broadwell TownshipIts storyB−Mount Pulaski Township3 historic placesAAetna TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Lincoln Township6 historic placesA

Questions about Chester Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.