Chester, Orange County, New York

Coordinates: 41°21′25″N 74°16′37″W / 41.35694°N 74.27694°W / 41.35694; -74.27694
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Not to be confused with the Warren County, New York town also called Chester.
Chester, New York
Town Council
Members' List
Area
2020)[2]
 • Total12,646
 • Density476.83/sq mi (184.11/km2)
FIPS code36-071-15308
Websitewww.chester-ny.gov

Chester is a

village, also called Chester
.

Chester is the birthplace of Philadelphia-style cream cheese.[4]

History

The Lenape people have settled in Orange County for over 5,000 years. Europeans first settled in the 1700s which were ethnic Dutch and English colonists.[5]

The economy of the early town was based on dairy products, particularly milk. This industry flourished because completion of the Erie Railroad in 1841, which ran through Chester, enabled local farmers to ship their products to New York City, where demand was high. For instance, local farmer Phil Gregory would ship 240 quarts (230 L) of milk by train to New York City. The railroad earned $1.20 ($29 in modern dollars[6]) in freight charges; Gregory's business eventually grew to 300,000 quarts (280,000 L) of milk per day, which in turn gave the railroad over $1,000 ($24,000 in modern dollars[6]) in daily profit.[5]

Late 20th century to present

In 2018, the Town of Chester approved a large residential development. It learned that the development appeared to be targeted toward the

Satmar Hasidic community, whose rapid growth in this area had caused tensions.[7] The large families of the Orthodox created strains for the local public school system, and there were other tensions between the strict Kiryas Joel and neighboring communities. Town supervisor Alex Jamieson told a local newspaper that the town would be buying up areas of undeveloped open space, including around the planned development in Chester, in order "to keep the Hasidic out so that they can't control the Town Board."[8] His comments were widely reported and criticized by The Forward as antisemitic.[8][9]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 25.2 square miles (65.4 km2), of which 25.2 square miles (65.2 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km2) (0.24%) is water.

Conjoined NY-17 and US-6 pass through the northern part of Chester. NY-94 crosses NY-17 south of Chester village.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18501,641—
18601,84912.7%
18702,11314.3%
18802,2295.5%
18902,112−5.2%
19002,1863.5%
19102,061−5.7%
19201,803−12.5%
19302,16420.0%
19402,77628.3%
19502,8783.7%
19603,49421.4%
19704,76736.4%
19806,85043.7%
19909,13833.4%
200012,14032.9%
201011,981−1.3%
202012,6465.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2020[3]

As of the

Latino
of any race were 10.14% of the population.

There were 3,782 households, out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $69,280, and the median income for a family was $75,222. Males had a median income of $53,528 versus $36,673 for females. The

poverty line
, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Chester

Education

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York operates area Roman Catholic schools. St. Columba School in Chester closed in 1991.[11]

See also

  • List of towns in New York (state)

References

  1. ^ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ a b US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report Chester, Orange County, New York QuickFacts https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/chestertownorangecountynewyork
  4. ^ "Philadelphia Cream Cheese Aims to Move Beyond the Bagel". The New York Times. April 3, 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Historian". chester-ny.gov. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  6. ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  7. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  8. ^
    Times-Herald Record
    . Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "New York Town is Buying Up Property To Keep Hasidic Jews Out". The Forward. September 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ^ Nieves, Evelyn (May 17, 1991). "Archdiocese Will Close a Bronx High School". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chester, Orange County, New York.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chester,_Orange_County,_New_York&oldid=1217414578"