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AHistory
History · Chester

Chester’s post office opened in 1832, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #95 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Frederick Weister House, the Old Fire Station and the Weinrich, Christian F.. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.

1832first post office
3on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
22old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chester’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chester began

When was Chester founded?

1832

The Chester post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,615 in 18702020 census: 6,814194 years

How historic is Chester?

A

More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Chester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Chester’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chester is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #95 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chester’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194028.3% of homes (±5.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 4.4 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 88%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chester’s 4.4 sits above most of its state (74% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Chester’s past

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

A town in old photos22 old photos, postcards and papers, 1857–1992.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1911, drew every building in Chester.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1993. Watch Chester change.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Chester.
★ What stands out · By decade

Chester, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
Map of the City of1857Map of the City ofMap
1910s1 item
Southern Illinois State Penitentiary1917Southern Illinois State Penitentiary
1920s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s11 items
Airslide Hopper, GATX1989Airslide Hopper, GATXAirslide Hopper, NS1989Airslide Hopper, NSAirslide Hopper, UP1989Airslide Hopper, UPSouthern Pacific SP 7803 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7803 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7811 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7811 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7819 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7819 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7826 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7826 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 7829 (B30-7)1989Southern Pacific SP 7829 (B30-7)Southern Pacific SP 8009 (B39-8)1989Southern Pacific SP 8009 (B39-8)Tug & Barge1989Tug & BargeTug and Barge1989Tug and Barge
1990s9 items
Airslide Hopper, MILW1990Airslide Hopper, MILWAirslide Hopper, Milwaukee1990Airslide Hopper, MilwaukeeAirslide Hopper, Rock Island1990Airslide Hopper, Rock IslandAirslide Hopper, Rock Island1990Airslide Hopper, Rock IslandMississippi Riverboat DELTA QUEEN1990Mississippi Riverboat DELTA QUEENAirslide Hopper, SBD1992Airslide Hopper, SBDAirslide Hopper, SP1992Airslide Hopper, SPAirslide Hopper, UP (MKT)1992Airslide Hopper, UP (MKT)Southern Pacific SP 8031 (B39-8)1992Southern Pacific SP 8031 (B39-8)
Every building

Chester, building by building, 1886–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Chester fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Chester on the map, 1915 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chester. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Chester on the 1915 USGS mapChester on the 1947 USGS mapChester on the 1970 USGS mapChester on the 1993 USGS map1915Chester sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chester.

The story

How Chester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chester.

Read it all →

Samuel Smith is said to be the town's founder because he built the first home in Chester, established a ferry system, and began the construction of a mill in 1829. The town was named after Chester, England, the city from where his wife Jane Smith was from. The first business in Chester was a general store that opened in 1830 along with a castor oil press established by R. B. Servant, who furnished farmers with seed and growing methods to later buy the beans they produced for oil extraction. This was a flourishing business until the petroleum industry made it obsolete.

The first wedding in the town of Chester was held on February 4, 1834. Content Walker, the bride and Amzi Andrews, the groom held their wedding in a 16 feet square log cabin.

ChaptersFoundingCole Milling CompanyInternational Shoe CompanyPrim Hosiery MillChester PoolHome of "Popeye"Popeye's Picnic and Parade

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chester, 1832 to 1990

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Chester post office opens
  3. 1857In the archiveMap of the City of
  4. 1859BuiltFrederick Weister House is built
  5. 1865Born hereWilliam A. Rodenberg is born here
  6. 1866Born hereGertrude Barnum is born here
  7. 1873BuiltWeinrich, Christian F. is built
  8. 1884Post officeThe Menard post office opens
  9. 1894Born hereE. C. Segar is born here
  10. 20th century
  11. 1905Born hereNora Lane is born here
  12. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1917In the archiveSouthern Illinois State Penitentiary
  14. 1989In the archiveAirslide Hopper, GATX
  15. 1990In the archiveAirslide Hopper, MILW
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Southern Illinois State Penitentiary
Retake this viewSouthern Illinois State Penitentiary, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chester’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Chester

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Frederick Weister House
Frederick Weister House, built 1859Old Fire StationWeinrich, Christian F., built 1873
Buildings
Frederick Weister HouseBuilt 1859
Old Fire StationBuilding
Weinrich, Christian F.Built 1873

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Chester, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,586

Between 1,615 and 8,586 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chester’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Chester

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
E. C. SegarAmerican cartoonist · b. 1894
Nora LaneActress · b. 1905
William A. RodenbergAmerican politician · b. 1865
G
Gertrude BarnumAmerican social worker and labor organizer · b. 1866
T
Tom WhamGame designer and artist · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Chester’s post office has been open since 1832.

Chester
1832–today
Menard
1884–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CamptonMenard
Gone or out of use
Chester HospitalhospitalChester QuarrymineSaint Marks Episcopal ChurchchurchUnion Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chester
EvergreenSaint Marys

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Chester’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSouthern Illinois State Penitentiary: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Chester’s history

What year was Chester founded?

The Chester post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Chester rank for history?

Chester is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #95 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Chester?

Three places: the Frederick Weister House (listed 2018), the Old Fire Station (2018) and the Weinrich, Christian F. (2018).

How old are the homes in Chester?

28% of Chester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1957.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.