Chester Borough, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chester Borough, New Jersey
Borough
Main Street in Downtown Chester
Seal
Location of Chester Borough in Morris County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Morris County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (left).
Census Bureau map of Chester Borough, New Jersey
Chester Borough, New Jersey Location in Morris County, New Jersey Show map of Morris County, New Jersey Chester Borough, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Chester Borough, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Morris
Incorporated	April 3, 1930
Named for	Chestershire, England
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	1.59 sq mi (4.13 km2)
• Land	1.59 sq mi (4.12 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0.13%
Area rank	441th of 565 in state 37th of 39 in county
Elevation	866 ft (264 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,681
• Estimate  (2023)	1,678
• Rank	503rd of 565 in state 38th of 39 in county
• Density	1,055.7/sq mi (407.6/km2)
• Density rank	376th of 565 in state 28th of 39 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07930
Area code(s)	908
FIPS code	3402712580
GNIS feature ID	0885184

Chester Borough is a borough in southwestern Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,681, an increase of 32 (+1.9%) from the 2010 census count of 1,649, which in turn reflected an increase of 14 (+0.9%) from the 1,635 counted in the 2000 census. Chester's name is derived from the township, which was named for Chestershire in England.

Chester Borough is located within the Raritan Valley region and is periodically recognized as part of the Somerset Hills. The borough is completely surrounded by Chester Township, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.

In the Forbes magazine's rankings of the Most Expensive ZIP Codes in the United States, Chester was ranked 288th in 2006 (with a median sale price of $775,000) and 321st in 2010 (with a median price of $823,691).

History

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 Chestershire in England.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.59 square miles (4.13 km²), including 1.59 square miles (4.12 km²) of land and <0.01 square miles (<0.01 km²) of water (0.13%).

The borough is completely surrounded by Chester Township. making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 1,649 people, 615 households, and 438 families in the borough. The population density was 1,034.8 per square mile (399.5/km²). There were 647 housing units at an average density of 406.0 per square mile (156.8/km²). The racial makeup was 90.78% (1,497) White, 1.03% (17) Black or African American, 0.49% (8) Native American, 2.30% (38) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 3.21% (53) from other races, and 2.18% (36) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.46% (222) of the population.

Of the 615 households, 34.0% had children under the age of 18; 60.0% were married couples living together; 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 28.8% were non-families. Of all households, 25.9% were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17.

27.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 96.4 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $86,705 (with a margin of error of +/− $12,175) and the median family income was $133,250 (+/− $8,752). Males had a median income of $84,167 (+/− $38,424) versus $50,341 (+/− $9,122) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $48,565 (+/− $4,792). About none of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Nathan Cooper Gristmill, in surrounding Chester Township

Dense forests and hiking trails surround the town of Chester. It was named one of the top ten most beautiful towns in New Jersey in 2016. There are various recreational state parks, such as Hacklebarney State Park and Black River County Park, which contains a popular tourist site called the Nathan Cooper Gristmill. These parks serve as quintessential family activities, especially going on hikes and observing the foliage during the fall. Willowwood Arboretum, operated by the Morris County Park Commission, covers 131 acres (53 ha) of gardens, meadows and walking / hiking trails.

Houses of worship

The First Congregational Church, at 30 Hillside Road, has been active since 1740. This historic church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the oldest congregational denomination west of the Hudson River.

Grace Bible Chapel, located at 100 Oakdale Road in Chester, is a non-denominational fellowship of evangelical Christians.

St. Lawrence the Martyr Roman Catholic Church, formed in the mid-1950, has about 1,200 families as congregants.

Education

Students in public school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Chester School District, together with children from Chester Township. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,047 students and 106.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.9:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Dickerson Elementary School with 317 students in grades Pre-K–2, Bragg Elementary School with 325 students in grades 3–5 and Black River Middle School with 402 students in grades 6–8. Dickerson and Bragg Schools are located on County Route 510, east of Chester Borough; Black River Middle School is on County Route 513 (North Road), north of Chester Borough. As a consolidated school district, all residents in the two constituent municipalities vote for board of education members who represent the entire district, not just the municipality in which they reside.

Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades in both communities attend West Morris Mendham High School, which serves students from the surrounding Morris County school districts of Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough and Mendham Township. The high school is part of the West Morris Regional High School District, which also serves students from Washington Township, who attend West Morris Central High School As of the 2020–21 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,142 students and 91.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. The district's board of education is comprised of nine members who are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis. The nine seats on the board of education are allocated based on the populations of the constituent municipalities, with one seat assigned to Chester Borough.

Transportation

U.S. Route 206 northbound in Chester Borough

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 12.06 miles (19.41 km) of roadways, of which 8.37 miles (13.47 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.58 miles (4.15 km) by Morris County and 1.11 miles (1.79 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Chester is located at the point where County Route 513 (also known as old Route 24) and U.S. Route 206 intersect.

Public transportation

NJ Transit local bus service was provided on the MCM4 and MCM5 routes until June 2010, when NJ Transit pulled the subsidy.

Points of interest

• Chester House Inn, at the corner of Main Street and Hillside Road, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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  Chester House Inn

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  Brick Tavern listed on the NRHP

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  Chester Publick House

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Chester Borough include:

• Lois Barker (1923–2018), utility player who played for the Grand Rapids Chicks of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1950 season
• Alex Cable, optical engineer, inventor and entrepreneur who founded optical equipment manufacturer Thorlabs in his parents' basement in Chester
• Lester H. Clee (1888–1962), clergyman and politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and served as the mayor of Chester
• Matt Flanagan (born 1995), tight end for the Washington Redskins
• Fran Hopper (1922–2017), comic book artist active during the 1930s–1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books, who was one of the earliest women in the field
• Larry W. Maysey (1946–1967), United States Air Force Pararescueman who was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, the Air Force's second-highest decoration
• Jared Stroud (born 1996), footballer who plays as a midfielder for St. Louis City SC in the Major League Soccer

See also

In Spanish: Chester (Nueva Jersey) para niños