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History · Chester

Chester’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold just one old photo of Chester. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1749established
1old images & papers
1historic places
23recent photos
Chester, Virginia Station on the Seaboard Air Line 1914, c. 1914 · Wikimedia Commons

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Chester's original "downtown" was a stop which was an intersection of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad, running north to south, and the Clover Hill Railroad, which became the Brighthope Railway, then the Farmville and Powhatan Railroad. In 1900, when the Richmond and Petersburg merged with the Atlantic Coast Line, that new railroad intersected the same east west railroad which became the Tidewater and Western Railroad in 1905.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1749Established
c. 1914Chester, Virginia Station on the Seaboard Air L…Commons
1920–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Be one of the first

Start Chester’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chester’s history is told.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewChester, Virginia Station on the …, c. 1914: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Chester

See all 6 →
Nate EatonNate EatonSportsWTWilliam TrueheartPolitics & LawCRC. J. ReavisSportsJEJordan EvansSportsWBWill BatesSportsWillis C. PulliamWillis C. PulliamPolitics & Law
By decade

Chester, decade by decade

1910s1 item
Chester, Virginia Station on the Seaboard Air Line 1914CommonsChester, Virginia Station on the Seaboard Air Line 1914c. 1914
1920s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today23 photos
Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8647CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86472015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8646CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86462015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8645CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86452015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8644CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86442015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8643CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86432015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8642CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86422015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8641CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86412015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8637CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86372015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8636CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86362015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8635CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86352015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8634CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86342015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8632CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86322015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8630CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86302015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8629CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86292015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8628CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86282015Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8617CommonsDutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 86172015Blue Heron Coal Ash Power Discharge Canal Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8710CommonsBlue Heron Coal Ash Power Discharge Canal Dutch Gap Conserv…2015Blue Heron Coal Ash Power Discharge Canal Dutch Gap Conservation Area Chester VA 8709CommonsBlue Heron Coal Ash Power Discharge Canal Dutch Gap Conserv…2015US Route 301 - Virginia (8117257380) (2)CommonsUS Route 301 - Virginia (8117257380) (2)2012US Route 301 - Virginia (8117254744) (2)CommonsUS Route 301 - Virginia (8117254744) (2)2012US Route 301 - Virginia (8117245919) (2)CommonsUS Route 301 - Virginia (8117245919) (2)2012US Route 301 - Virginia (8117245575) (2)CommonsUS Route 301 - Virginia (8117245575) (2)2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaCommonsInterstate 95 - Virginia2011
National Register of Historic Places

1 historic place in Chester

1 place in Chester is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

#243
In Virginiaby listings · the typical town has 1
1place listed1 building
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
1historic building protectedcounting each building in a district
1976first listedChester Presbyterian Church

Where they are

Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Chester Presbyterian Church
Buildings

When they were listed

The Register began in 1966.
Chester Presbyterian ChurchListed 1976Chester Presbyterian ChurchBuildingArchitectureReligionSocial history
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Chester, Virginia Station on the Seaboard Air Line 1914 (c. 1914) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Colonial Heights📜 Hopewell📜 Petersburg📜 Richmond

From Wikimedia Commons (24). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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