The story
Read it all →How Chester came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Chester.
The town of Chester was formed from part of the Town of Thurman in 1799.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Novis-M · Public domainA−History
History · Chester
Chester dates to 1794, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #396 of 758 in New York. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1820.
1794founded
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Chester began
When was Chester founded?
1794
Chester dates its founding to 1794 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.
First census: 1,013 in 18202020 census: 3,086232 years
How historic is Chester?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1808.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 82% of U.S. towns, #396 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chester’s overall grade.
Founding era1794, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194019.5% of homes (±6.0) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 7 historic buildings, 22.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 48%
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chester’s 22.8 sits near the middle of its state (58% of New York towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1794.
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’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 18953 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1968. Watch Chester change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Chester, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1794: 232 years of Chester.
★ 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.On the map
Chester on the map, 1895 to 1968
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chester. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1895North Creek sheet · 1:62,500U.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
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Chester had its own post office from 1808 to 1826. Another post office, Igerna, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Chester
Chestertown
Pottersville
Igerna
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ChestertownDarrowsvilleIgernaPottersvilleRipariusStarbuckvilleVillage Estates Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Glendale Drive-Inlocale
11cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chester
Baroudi FamilyChester RuralDarrowsvilleDillinghamFishIgernaPottersville NewPottersville OldStarbuckhillTyrelWest Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the old history books
What they wrote about Chester, 1899–1914
Passages that mention Chester, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History and genealogy of the Harlan family, and particularly of the descendants of George and Michael Harlan, who settled in Chester County, Pa., 16871914 · page 930Read the page →
Read the text
b. 12, 19. 1870. in Lancaster Co., Pa. (ii) Chester Baily, b. 8, 8. 1872, in Chester Co., Pa. ; d. there, 8, 25. 1873. ( iii) Pierce Webb, b. 10. 25. 1873, i" Lancaster Co.. Pa. (iv) Martha Jane, b. i, 25.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History and genealogy of the Harlan family, and particularly of the descendants of George and Michael Harlan, who settled in Chester County, Pa., 16871914 · page 692Read the page →
Read the text
at Hamorton. Chester Co., Pa., 4, 29, 1843; d. at Philadelphia, 4, 6. 1895: bur. in Oakland Cemetery, \\'est Chester, Chester Co.: m. at her father's home in East Bradford Twp.. that county, 10, 6, 1869, Ellen Brinton Entrekin (Friend), b.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
West Chester, past and present1899 · page 49Read the page →
Read the text
David Townsend (17S7-lsr.M. Botanist. Born at Pughtown; 1810, appointed clerk in office of Regisl i and Recorder of Chester county; 1813. elected Commissi re r of Chester county: 1814, one of original Directors of National Bank of Chesinty; 1817 to 1S49, Cashier of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Chester, 1794 to 1895
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 18th century
- 1794FoundingChester is established
- 19th century
- 1808Post officeThe Chester post office opens
- 1826Post officeThe Chester post office closes
- 1826Post officeThe Chestertown post office opens
- 1839Post officeThe Pottersville post office opens
- 1895
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Chester, decade by decade
Today10 recent
2022Small waterfall near Loon Lake
2022Boaters on Loon Lake in
2021Chester, New York at the Schroon River
2021Greetings from Scaroon Manor on Schroon Lake, New Yor…Document
2011Greetings from Scaroon Manor on Schroon Lake, New Yor…Document
2010Mountain Backdrop off of NY Route 28N
2009Chester New York
2008Chester Inn, Chestertown NY
2008Chester Four Corners, Chestertown, NY
2008Chester Four Corners, Chestertown, NY (cropped)On the National Register
1 listing protects 7 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
2025
Chestertown Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival1
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
Between 1,013 and 3,614 people in every census since 1820.
21 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chester’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Chester
Nobody well known was born in Chester itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Horicon1 historic placeB+Johnsburg2 historic placesAPottersvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townThurman2 historic placesB+Warrensburg4 historic placesA+MinervaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorth Creek1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Chester’s history
What year was Chester founded?
In 1794, according to Wikidata. Chester’s post office opened in 1808, and the census of 1820 counted 1,013 people here.
How does Chester rank for history?
Chester is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #396 of 758 in New York. 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?
One place: the Chestertown Historic District (listed 2025).
How old are the homes in Chester?
20% of Chester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1979.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.