3 of Chester Township’s places are on the National Register
More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #302 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Cooper, Nathan, Gristmill, the Gen. Nathan Cooper Mansion and the Merchiston Farm. Most of Chester Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Cooper, Nathan, Gristmill, the Gen. Nathan Cooper Mansion and the Merchiston Farm. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chester Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #302 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chester Township’s overall grade.
New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chester Township’s 10.3 sits above most of its state (69% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chester Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Lake Hopatcong 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.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Milldale, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
HacklebarneyMilltownPleasant Hill
Gone or out of use
Wortman Minemine
1cemetery inside Chester Township
Pleasant Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Chester Township was established as a separate political entity on April 1, 1799, including the area of both the Township and the downtown settlement which came to be the borough. The Borough of Chester was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 3, 1930, based on the results of a referendum held on April 25, 1930, and is today a separate municipality surrounded entirely by Chester Township.
The borough's name is derived from the township, which was named for Cheshire in England.
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.
Chester Township is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #302 of 468 in New Jersey. 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 Township?
Three places: the Cooper, Nathan, Gristmill (listed 1976), the Gen. Nathan Cooper Mansion (1978) and the Merchiston Farm (1989).
How old are the homes in Chester Township?
5% of Chester Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (10), 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) 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.
1915
1915
1915
1915
1915
1915
1916
1916
1916
2025
2025
2020
2008
2007
