Chester is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, situated in the western part of the state. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Chester was opened for settlement in the 1750s as Township No. 9 and was first called Murrayfield. Chester was incorporated on February 21, 1783.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.1 square miles (96.2 km²), of which, 36.7 square miles (95.1 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (1.08%) is water.
Chester is bordered by Huntington on the east, Worthington and Middlefield on the north, Becket on the west, and Blandford on the south. Chester is 30 miles southeast of Pittsfield; 30 miles northwest of Springfield; 115 miles west of Boston; 70 miles from Albany, New York; and 140 miles from New York City.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,308 people, 500 households, and 360 families residing in the town. The population density was 35.6 people per square mile (13.7/km²). There were 580 housing units at an average density of 15.8/sq mi (6.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.24% White, 0.15% African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population.
There were 500 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 106.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,816, and the median income for a family was $51,932. Males had a median income of $38,083 versus $25,789 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,098. About 2.9% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
References
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- Chester Folks: The Founders of the Town, Their Ancestors and Descendants. Compiled by William S. Mills, 1923; Edited by Charles B. Moore, 1996. Available from the Chester Historical Society
- Chester, MA by Narrative compiled by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), at MassOnline
Notable Residents
- Chase LaDue, member of the Youtube film group "Asian Under Ground Studios."
- Capt. David Shepard (surgeon), American doctor and soldier; an early proponent of inoculation to prevent small pox
External links
