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History · Chester

Chester’s post office opened in 1880, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1890.

1880first post office
0on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chester’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chester began, and where its name came from

When was Chester founded?

1880

The Chester post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 407 in 18902020 census: 224146 years

How did Chester get its name?

Chester was named for President Chester A. Arthur.

Founding year: the first Chester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Chester’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 634 in 1940; 224 people lived here in 2020.
★ 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.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPostcard sample from the Eureka postcar…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Chester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chester.

Read it all →

Chester was platted in 1880 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for President Chester A. Arthur.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Chester, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 634

Peaked at 634 in 1940; 224 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Chester, 1880 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Chester post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 634
  5. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Chester, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Postcard sample from the Eureka postcard mfg co, High School (NBY 422641)Date?Postcard sample from the Eureka postcard mfg co, High…Postcard
Today4 recent
Chester, Nebraska from NW2011Chester, Nebraska from NWChester, Nebraska downtown 22011Chester, Nebraska downtown 2Chester, Nebraska downtown 12011Chester, Nebraska downtown 1Chester, Nebraska auditorium2011Chester, Nebraska auditorium
On the map

Chester on the map, 1960 to 1980

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 1960 USGS mapChester on the 1980 USGS map1960Chester sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Postcard sample from the Eureka postcard mfg co, High School (NBY 422641)
Retake this viewPostcard sample from the Eureka postcard mfg co, High School (NBY 422641)

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
Famous people

Famous people close to Chester

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

See all →
Nick HagueAmerican astronaut and space force officer · b. 1975
Edwin C. JohnsonAmerican politician · b. 1884
Robert GordonAmerican silent film actor · b. 1895
Maxine GatesActress · b. 1917
Philip MeyerAmerican journalist and scholar · b. 1930
Edwin Bayer BransonAmerican geologist and paleontologist · b. 1877
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Chester’s post office has been open since 1880.

Gone or out of use
Saint Johns Lutheran Parochial Schoolschool

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

Questions about Chester’s history

What year was Chester founded?

The Chester post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.