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B+History
History · Chester

Chester’s post office opened in 1884, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the James F. Murray House. Its Register listing is the James F. Murray House. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.

1884first post office
1on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chester began

When was Chester founded?

1884

The Chester post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mercer (1898), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 3,184 in 19102020 census: 2,208142 years

How historic is Chester?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Chester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 71% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chester’s overall grade.
Founding era1884, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194040.4% of homes (±8.6) · typical WV town 13.0% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 9.2 per 10,000 residents · typical WV town 29.6 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder

West Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical West Virginia town has 29.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chester’s 9.2 sits near the middle of its state (53% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,805 in 1940; 2,208 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1902 to 1923, drew every building in Chester.Old housesHalf of Chester’s homes were built before 1950.
★ 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Chester, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,805

Peaked at 3,805 in 1940; 2,208 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Every building

Chester, building by building, 1902–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Chester fire insurance map, 1902, sheet 11902Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Chester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chester.

Read it all →

Chester was founded in 1896 and incorporated in 1907. The town was established by lawyer J.E. McDonald from neighboring East Liverpool, Ohio. The origin of the name Chester is uncertain, although it may be a transfer from Chester County, Pennsylvania.

The town grew in the early 20th century, led primarily by the pottery industry founded in nearby East Liverpool. The Taylor, Smith & Taylor Company was the leading manufacturer in Chester, employing over 800 people at one time. Another large employer was the steel-manufacturing Chester Rolling Mill Company.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chester, 1874 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Born hereWin Mercer is born here
  3. 1884Post officeThe Chester post office opens
  4. 1898Post officeThe Mercer post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Mercer post office closes
  7. 1923Born hereHerb Coleman is born here
  8. 1925Born hereJim Jordan is born here
  9. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 3,805
  11. 1959Born hereScott Paulsen is born here
By decade

Chester, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Chester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaChester, West Virginia2012Chester, West VirginiaSite of the James F. Murray House2009Site of the James F. Murray HouseChester municipal building2009Chester municipal buildingWVMap-doton-Chester2004WVMap-doton-ChesterChester WV 2000 Census reference map2000Chester WV 2000 Census reference mapMap
On the map

Chester on the map, 1937 to 1996

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 1937 USGS mapChester on the 1944 USGS mapChester on the 1978 USGS mapChester on the 1985 USGS mapChester on the 1996 USGS map1937Wellsville 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.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Chester

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
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
James F. Murray House
James F. Murray House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
American Movements1
Neo-Classical Revival1
American Foursquare1
James F. Murray HouseLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Chester

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jim JordanAmerican basketball player · b. 1925
S
Scott PaulsenAmerican actor · b. 1959
Win MercerAmerican baseball player · b. 1874
H
Herb ColemanAmerican football player · b. 1923
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Chester’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Mercer, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chester
1884–today
Mercer
1898–1902
18801950today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Newell1 historic placeB

Questions about Chester’s history

What year was Chester founded?

The Chester post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Chester rank for history?

Chester is more historic than 71% 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.

What is on the National Register in Chester?

One place: the James F. Murray House (listed 1990).

How old are the homes in Chester?

40% of Chester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1950.

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 Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.