Chester is a town located in the Southeastern corner of New Hampshire in the Merrimack Valley region of the state. It is situated in the central part of Rockingham County and encompasses 26 square miles, only .1 of which is water. As of the 2010 United States Census, Chester was home to 4,768 people.
Chester was incorporated as a town in 1722. At the time, it included the land that now comprises the nearby town of Candia. That area was separated and incorporated on its own in 1763. Chester was first called “chestnut country,” then later adopted the name Chester in honor of the English town of Cheshire.
Less than 1 percent of Chester’s total area is water. The town is home to parts of the Exeter River and is part of both the Piscataqua River and the Merrimack River watershed. Its highest point lies at a summer in the Southeast corner of the town, where elevation reaches 639 feet above sea level. Over the years, Chester has been called home by a number of notable people, including: former governors of New Hampshire Samuel Bell, John Bell and Charles H. Bell; U.S. Congressmen Samuel Newell Bell, George Cochrane Hazelton and Gerry Whiting Hazelton; sculptor Daniel Chester French; and businessman Timothy Dexter.
Chester is governed by an elected Board of Selectmen. The town boasts a full-time police department, a full- and part-time fire department and municipal emergency medical services. The top employer in the area is Stone Machine Co. Children in the area Chester Academy for grades kindergarten through eighth. For grades nine through 12, students are tuitioned to Pinkerton Academy, which also serves the towns of Derry and Hampstead.
For entertainment and recreation, residents of Chester can take advantage of the town’s municipal parks, youth organizations, sports leagues, fishing and hunting areas, boating marinas and local beaches and waterfront areas. The town also has its own recreation department which hosts various community-wide programs and events.