The Borough of Chester is located in southwestern Morris County, at the intersection of State Highway 24 and U.S. Highway 206. The Borough enjoys a flourishing commercial area while most of the land area in the 1.45 square miles of our community is devoted to single family housing. Chester was first surveyed and mapped in 1713. The Lawrence Line, dividing East and West Jersey in colonial times, went directly through Chester. After 1730, settlers began arriving in the area, primarily farmers relocating from Long Island. The opening of the Washington Turnpike in 1806 brought a steady stream of travelers through Chester, and spurred the development of taverns and inns. The early name "Black River" is still carried by the tributary of the Raritan which flows through Chester Township. One of the attractions of "Black River" to early settlers was the presence of easily mined and worked iron ore. During the time period of the Civil War, large iron ore deposits were discovered, and Chester's legendary iron boom exploded in 1867. The Chester Railroad was opened in 1869 to haul the ore to market. Miners, many from England, Wales and Hungary, came pouring into Chester to work the mines. Fortunes were made and lost in iron back then, but little evidence remains today of Chester's illustrious mining history. The railroads are gone, the mines filled in, and many mining-related structures are long gone. A legacy of the mining era survives in some of the architecture of Chester, especially in the Main Street commercial area.

Chester itself was established as a separate political entity in 1799, at which time "Chester" meant the area of both the Township and the downtown Village area which came to be the Borough. The Borough of Chester was incorporated in 1930, and is today a separate municipality surrounded by Chester Township. After World War II, the open, rolling fields began to be transformed into housing developments as suburban growth came to the area. Today, the Borough of Chester is a community where people know each other. The quaint village charm of Chester Borough is supported by houses of worship, fine schools, parks and public services. We are a self-contained commercial center providing a variety of shop, stores and attractions. Taken as a whole, Chester Borough is a place where people want to live, work and shop. Welcome to our community!

(The above historic overview is taken in part from the Morris County Historic Sites Survey, 1986/87, and from the Chester Borough Master Plan, 1988. For more information about the history of our community, contact the Chester Historical Society, P.O. Box 376, Chester, N.J. 07930)