kids encyclopedia robot

Chester, South Carolina facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Chester, South Carolina
City
Chester County Courthouse, built in 1852
Chester County Courthouse, built in 1852
Official seal of Chester, South Carolina
Seal
Nickname(s): 
The Picture Perfect City; The Little City on the Big Hill
Motto(s): 
"At The Center Of It All"
Location of Chester, South Carolina
Location of Chester, South Carolina
Country United States
State South Carolina
County Chester
Government
 • Type Council
Area
 • Total 3.31 sq mi (8.56 km2)
 • Land 3.31 sq mi (8.56 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
541 ft (165 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 5,269
 • Density 1,593.77/sq mi (615.42/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code
29706
Area code(s) 803, 839
FIPS code 45-14095
GNIS feature ID 1247275

Chester is a small rural city in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,607 at the 2010 census, down from 6,476 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chester County.

History

The Catholic Presbyterian Church, Chester City Hall and Opera House, Chester Historic District, Colvin-Fant-Durham Farm Complex, Fishdam Ford, Kumler Hall, Lewis Inn, and McCollum Mound are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography and climate

Chester is located just west of the center of Chester County at 34°42′20″N 81°12′42″W / 34.70556°N 81.21167°W / 34.70556; -81.21167 (34.705553, -81.211638). U.S. Route 321 bypasses the city to the west and the south, leading north 22 miles (35 km) to York and south 25 miles (40 km) to Winnsboro. South Carolina Highway 9 passes through the city center and leads east 11 miles (18 km) to Interstate 77 near Richburg and west 49 miles (79 km) to Spartanburg. Highways 72 and 121 lead northeast 19 miles (31 km) to Rock Hill and southwest 28 miles (45 km) to Whitmire.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km2), all of it land.

Springstein Mill. John Lewis (boy with hat), 12 years old, 1 year in mill. Weaver - 4 looms. 40 (cents) a day to... - NARA - 523117
Young mill workers in Chester, 1908, photographed by Lewis Hine
Climate data for Chester, South Carolina, normals 1981–2010, extremes 1923-present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 82
(28)		 83
(28)		 88
(31)		 96
(36)		 102
(39)		 105
(41)		 106
(41)		 106
(41)		 105
(41)		 100
(38)		 90
(32)		 80
(27)		 106
(41)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 52.1
(11.2)		 56.4
(13.6)		 64.7
(18.2)		 73.6
(23.1)		 80.7
(27.1)		 87.5
(30.8)		 90.5
(32.5)		 88.9
(31.6)		 82.9
(28.3)		 73.4
(23.0)		 64.2
(17.9)		 54.4
(12.4)		 72.4
(22.5)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 29.0
(−1.7)		 31.4
(−0.3)		 37.9
(3.3)		 45.6
(7.6)		 55.6
(13.1)		 64.9
(18.3)		 68.7
(20.4)		 67.8
(19.9)		 60.6
(15.9)		 48.0
(8.9)		 38.4
(3.6)		 30.8
(−0.7)		 48.2
(9.0)
Record low °F (°C) −3
(−19)		 −1
(−18)		 4
(−16)		 21
(−6)		 28
(−2)		 38
(3)		 50
(10)		 47
(8)		 37
(3)		 16
(−9)		 9
(−13)		 −5
(−21)		 −5
(−21)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 4.13
(105)		 3.78
(96)		 4.16
(106)		 3.38
(86)		 2.99
(76)		 4.37
(111)		 4.01
(102)		 4.85
(123)		 3.66
(93)		 3.35
(85)		 3.48
(88)		 3.59
(91)		 45.75
(1,162)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 1.1
(2.8)		 1.0
(2.5)		 0.5
(1.3)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 — 0.5
(1.3)		 2.8
(7.1)
Source: NOAA

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880 1,899 —
1890 2,703 42.3%
1900 4,075 50.8%
1910 4,754 16.7%
1920 5,557 16.9%
1930 5,528 −0.5%
1940 6,392 15.6%
1950 6,893 7.8%
1960 6,906 0.2%
1970 7,045 2.0%
1980 6,820 −3.2%
1990 7,158 5.0%
2000 6,476 −9.5%
2010 5,607 −13.4%
2020 5,269 −6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Chester racial composition
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 1,449 27.5%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 3,448 65.44%
Native American 11 0.21%
Asian 42 0.8%
Pacific Islander 2 0.04%
Other/Mixed 197 3.74%
Hispanic or Latino 120 2.28%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,269 people, 2,244 households, and 1,131 families residing in the city.

Education

Chester has a public library, a branch of the Chester County Library System.

Police

The Chester Police Department has a staff of three police officers.

.....

Although a small town, Chester suffers higher crime rates than the national average in all categories.

In the media

Chiefs, a miniseries based on the novel by Stuart Woods, was filmed in Chester over the course of three months in 1983. It was nominated for three prime-time Emmy awards, and featured a star-studded cast including Charlton Heston, Keith Carradine, Brad Davis, Paul Sorvino, Billy Dee Williams, Paula Kelly and Danny Glover.

In 2014, a celebration of the filming of Chiefs was organized in Chester by Catherine Fleming Bruce in collaboration with local organizations. Among the presenters was author Stuart Woods. The Chester newspaper reprinted coverage of Woods' visit to the City on the occasion of his death in 2022.

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Chester (Carolina del Sur) para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Chester, South Carolina Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.