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B+History
History · Chester Township

Chester Township dates to 1839, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1949 on.

1839founded
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chester Township began

When was Chester Township founded?

1839

Chester Township dates its founding to 1839 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1837.

2020 census: 1,769187 years

How historic is Chester Township?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.
History grade

What drives Chester Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chester Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chester Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194033.7% of homes (±7.7) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%ANational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chester Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan 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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). Two sources give 1839.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 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.Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Chester Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1839: 187 years of Chester Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jefferson
1837–1842
Chester
1842–1913
Allen's
1870–1871
Gresham
1883–1903
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChesterGreshamStalls Corner
Gone or out of use
Allen's Post Officepost officeChester Post Officepost officeChester StationlocaleGresham Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chester Township
GreshamNeedmore

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

Timeline

Chester Township, 1837 to 1949

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Jefferson post office opens
  3. 1839
    FoundingChester Township is established
  4. 1842Post officeThe Jefferson post office closes
  5. 1842Post officeThe Chester post office opens
  6. 1870Post officeThe Allen's post office opens
  7. 1871Post officeThe Allen's post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1913Post officeThe Chester post office closes
  10. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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 a civil township of Eaton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,769 at the 2020 United States census.

Chester Township was established in 1839. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,747 in 2010, 1,769 in 2020.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Chester Township on the map, 1949 to 1980

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

Chester Township on the 1949 USGS mapChester Township on the 1980 USGS map1949Charlotte 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 Township.

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 →
R
Richard Clyde TaylorAmerican philosopher, born 1919 · b. 1919
Matt GreeneAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1983
Reid BoucherAmerican hockey player · b. 1993
Harry T. MoreyAmerican actor · b. 1873
A
A. Whitney BrownAmerican stand-up comedian · b. 1952
Frank FitzgeraldAmerican politician · b. 1885
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Benton TownshipIts storyB−Vermontville Township3 historic placesACarmel TownshipIts storyCRoxand TownshipIts storyB+

Questions about Chester Township’s history

What year was Chester Township founded?

In 1839, according to Wikidata. Chester Township’s post office opened in 1837.

How does Chester Township rank for history?

Chester Township is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. 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 Township?

34% of Chester Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 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.