Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Chester post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Chester Station (1856) and Atwater (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chester’s history is told.
Chester had its own post office from 1847 to 1856. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
From Wikipedia’s history of Chester.
A post office called Chester was established in 1847, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1918. The town was named after Chester, Massachusetts.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Chester, cut from the printed page as they were published.
W. E. SCOTT, farmer. Sec. 29; P. O. Atwater; came to Wisconsin in the tall of 1845, and settled on the farm he now occupies, in the town of Chester, Dodge Co. ; he was one of the pioneers, and is the only man living in the town of Chester who helped to organize it, which he did in November, 1845. Has held the office of Supervisor, Treasurer and Collector, and was Justica of the Peace one term, from 1855 to 1857. Mr. Scott and his brother, L. T. Scott, were the inventors of a ditching machine which has been extensively used in this vicinity. The subject of this sketch was the son of Elhannan and Eliza P.Scott, and was "born Nov. 30, 1822, in what was then Genesee Co., N. Y. ; afterward, the county was divided, leaving his birthplace in Wyoming Co. Was married in May, 1847, to Sarah Vandewater,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
W. E. ISCOTT, farmer, Sec. 29; P. 0. Atwater; came to Wisconsin in the fall of 1845, and settled on the farm he now occupies, in the town of Chester, Dodge Co. ; he was one of the pioneers, and is the only man living in the town of Chester who helped to organize it, which he did in November, 1845. Has held the office of Supervisor, Treasurer and Collector, and was Justice of the Peace one term, from 1855 to 1857. Mr. Scott and his brother, L. T. Scott, were the inventors of a ditching machine which has been extensively used in this vicinity. The subject of this sketch was the son of Elhannan and Eliza F.Scott, and was born Nov. 30, 1822, in what was then Genesee Co., N. Y. ; afterward, the county was divided, leaving his birthplace in Wyoming Co. Was married in May, 1847, to Sarah Vandewater,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
getting brisk. An enterprising recruiting officer at Mayville, heads his poster, "Flee from the draft to come." The town of Trenton pays $200 and those liable to draft have added $50 more, in addition to Government bounty. The town of Calamus also votes $200. At a townmeeting in the town of Chester, the following resolution was passed unanimously : ^'■Resolved, That we, as citizens of the town of Chester, pledge ourselves without reserve that we will cheerfully comply with this necessary sacrifice (the test of the draft) to uphold the Constitution and laws of the land, and sustain the blessings of free government."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ment displayed in the management of the affairs of the village, desired the advantages to be derived ed from a city rather than a town government. This additional territory was taken partly from each county. The southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 4, and the north half of the south half of Section 5, a total of 200 acres taken from the town of Chester, and the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 23, from the town of Waupun. The growth of Waupun has been steady and constant from the beginning. Very few commercial failures have intervened, to retard its general prosperity. Its business men have, as a rule, been honorable and enterprising tradesmen. Its professional men and other citizens have
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Chester post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.