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C−History
History · Chester

Chester’s post office opened in 1888

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #182 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it

Most of Chester was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1892 on.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chester began

When was Chester founded?

1888

The Chester post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 5,003138 years

How historic is Chester?

C−

More historic than 19% 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).
History grade

What drives Chester’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chester is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #182 of 261 in Maryland. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chester’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.7% of homes (±3.6) · typical MD town 3.3% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MD town 0.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
Maryland towns of 2,500+ (261)Ahead of 30%

Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chester’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (20% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Chester are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1973. Watch Chester change.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chester’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Chester on the map, 1892 to 1973

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 1892 USGS mapChester on the 1904 USGS mapChester on the 1942 USGS mapChester on the 1973 USGS map1892Annapolis 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.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Chester’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bentons PleasureBridge PointCastle MarinaCheslou VillageChesterhaven BeachHarborviewSharktown
Gone or out of use
Castle Marina Airportairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chester
Kingsley ChurchUnion Wesley Methodist Church

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

The story so far

Chester, in brief

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

Chester is a census-designated place on Kent Island in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,723 at the 2000 census.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,167 to 5,003 (+20%).

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

By decade

Chester, decade by decade

Today21 recent
St. Christopher’s Church, Kent Island2025St. Christopher’s Church, Kent IslandGalilee Lutheran Church, Kent Island2025Galilee Lutheran Church, Kent Island2022-06-29 14 33 34 View east along U.S. Route 50 and north along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 4…20222022-06-29 14 33 34 View east along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 14 32 33 View east along U.S. Route 50 and north along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 4…20222022-06-29 14 32 33 View east along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 14 31 22 View east along U.S. Route 50 and north along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 4…20222022-06-29 14 31 22 View east along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 14 30 11 View east along U.S. Route 50 and north along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 3…20222022-06-29 14 30 11 View east along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 14 28 57 View east along U.S. Route 50 and north along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 3…20222022-06-29 14 28 57 View east along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 14 02 29 View west along Maryland State Route 18 (Tanners Lane) at Castle Marina Road in Chester, Queen Anne…20222022-06-29 14 02 29 View west along Maryland State Ro…2022-06-29 13 57 35 View west along Maryland State Route 18 (Main Street) at the exit for U.S. Route 50 EAST and U.S. R…20222022-06-29 13 57 35 View west along Maryland State Ro…2022-06-29 12 18 07 View at the end of the ramp from eastbound U.S. Route 50 and southbound U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star M…20222022-06-29 12 18 07 View at the end of the ramp from …2022-06-29 12 17 22 View east along Maryland State Route 18 (Main Street) at the exit for U.S. Route 50 EAST and U.S. R…20222022-06-29 12 17 22 View east along Maryland State Ro…2022-06-29 12 01 17 View south along Maryland State Route 552 (Dominion Road) at Maryland State Route 18 (Main Street) …20222022-06-29 12 01 17 View south along Maryland State R…2022-06-29 11 59 05 View east along Maryland State Route 18 (Tanners Lane) at Castle Marina Road in Chester, Queen Anne…20222022-06-29 11 59 05 View east along Maryland State Ro…2022-06-29 11 58 00 View east along Maryland State Route 18 (Tanners Lane) at Main Street in Chester, Queen Anne's Coun…20222022-06-29 11 58 00 View east along Maryland State Ro…2022-06-29 10 19 16 View west along U.S. Route 50 and south along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 3…20222022-06-29 10 19 16 View west along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 10 15 33 View west along U.S. Route 50 and south along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) from the …20222022-06-29 10 15 33 View west along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 10 14 16 View east along the eastbound lanes of U.S. Route 50 and north along the northbound lanes of U.S. R…20222022-06-29 10 14 16 View east along the eastbound lan…2022-06-29 10 12 33 View east along the westbound lanes of U.S. Route 50 and north along the southbound lanes of U.S. R…20222022-06-29 10 12 33 View east along the westbound lan…2022-06-29 10 05 18 View west along U.S. Route 50 and south along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 3…20222022-06-29 10 05 18 View west along U.S. Route 50 and…2022-06-29 10 03 46 View west along U.S. Route 50 and south along U.S. Route 301 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) at Exit 4…20222022-06-29 10 03 46 View west along U.S. Route 50 and…2017-08-11 15 26 54 View south along Maryland State Route 552 (Dominion Road) at U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 301 (Blue…20172017-08-11 15 26 54 View south along Maryland State R…
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Kent NarrowsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStevensville5 historic placesB−

Questions about Chester’s history

What year was Chester founded?

The Chester post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Chester rank for history?

Chester is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #182 of 261 in Maryland. 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.

How old are the homes in Chester?

4% of Chester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1993.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (21), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.