Chester, Nova Scotia

Chester, Nova Scotia
photo by Jeff vienneau www.avinova.ca
Motto: A Progressive Community
Location of Chester, Nova Scotia
Coordinates: 4°32′25″N 64°14′23″W / 4.54028, -64.23972
Country	Canada
Province	Nova Scotia
County	Lunenburg County.
Municipality	Chester Municipal District
Government
- Warden	Allen Webber
- Deputy Warden	Floyd Shatford
- Chief Administrative Officer	Darrell Hiltz
Population (2001)
- Village
Time zone	AST (UTC-4)
- Summer (DST)	ADT (UTC-3)
Postal code	B0J 1J0
Area code(s)	902
Telephone Exchanges	275 277 279 299 980
Part of a series about Places in Nova Scotia

Chester (2001 pop.: 1,591) is an unincorporated Canadian village located in Nova Scotia's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County.

Geography

The village is roughly centred on 44°32′25″N, 64°14′23″W. It is situated on the Chester Peninsula, which extends into Mahone Bay.

Front Harbour, Chester

The village has two natural harbours, Front Harbour on the east and Back Harbour on the west. The village is also immediately south of Stanford Lake.

History

Chester was officially founded in 1759 as the Shoreham grant, although French fishermen had already built a few houses on the site. The first permanent European-descended settlers were a group from Massachusetts who came to the area in 1761.

Chester is one of the wealthiest communities in the province as a result of being a vacation and resort destination, with many seasonal and year-round estates and mansions. The nearby waters of Mahone Bay and its numerous islands are well known for yachting and have made Chester into a cruising destination. A ferry from the village connects to Big Tancook Island and Little Tancook Island.

Chester was the site of a controversial plebiscite regarding the status of the village. A committee had been formed in hopes of changing the status of Chester by incorporating as a town, thereby leaving the Chester Municipal District. Many residents of the village fought the motion, citing higher taxes, costs for a town hall, a mayor, and water and sewage services as reasons to not incorporate. Villagers also noticed that several of the members of the committee advocating incorporation as a town were some of the wealthiest people in the area. The motion was defeated in a public plebiscite.

Festivals and events

The village is home to the Chester Playhouse one of the best-known community theaters on Nova Scotia's South Shore. Chester is well known for its annual summer sailing regatta, Chester Race Week, where keelboats from all over the eastern coast of North America compete during the second full week of August.

Movies

Scenes for several films, miniseries, movies of the week, and television shows have been shot in and around Chester:

• Echoes of a Summer (1976)
• The Secret (1992)
• Dolores Claiborne (1995, exterior of Vera Donovan's)
• Two if by Sea (1996)
• Black Harbour (1996)
• Love and Death on Long Island (1997)
• Catch a Falling Star (2000)
• The Weight of Water (2000)
• Blackfly (2001)
• A Town Without Christmas (2001)
• Beach Girls (2005)

References

External links

• Maps and aerial photos for Expression error: unrecognised word "expression"°′″Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "," Expression error: unrecognised word "expression"°′″Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "{" / 44.546319,-64.240065, {{{2}}}Coordinates: Expression error: unrecognised word "expression"°′″Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "," Expression error: unrecognised word "expression"°′″Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "{" / 44.546319,-64.240065, {{{2}}}
  • WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
  • Street map from Mapquest
  • Aerial photograph from Terraserver
  • Topo, Nautical, Aeronautical maps from Maptech
• The Municipality of the District of Chester
• Chester Municipal Chamber of Commerce
• Destination Nova Scotia
• Rope Loft Restaurant - Seaside Dining
• Chester Yacht Club, Home of Chester Race Week
• Chester Golf Club
• Chester Clippers Jr. "C" Hockey Club
• Chester Playhouse
• Chester and Area Family Resource Centre
• Church Memorial Park
• Chester District School
• Chester Area Middle School
• Forest Heights Community School
• Captain's House Historic Inn
• Mecklenburgh Inn
• The Sword and Anchor B&B
• Chesterbound - Lots of Local Links
• Live Chester Webcam - from Tradewinds Realty
• Satellite Image of Chester (Google Maps)
• Chester war memorial
• Chester bronze cannons
• The Village Emporium
• Aerial Photos of Chester and Surounding Area (www.avinova.ca)
• Local Chester Weather, Updated every 5 minutes

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