Chester (town), New York
| Chester | |
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| Town | |
 Location in Orange County and the state of New York. |
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 Chester
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| Coordinates: 41°21′25″N 74°16′37″W / 41.35694°N 74.27694°WCoordinates: 41°21′25″N 74°16′37″W / 41.35694°N 74.27694°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Orange |
| Settled | 1721 |
| Established | 1845 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Town Supervisor | Alex Jamieson (R) |
| • Town Council |
Members' List
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| Population (Census 2010) | |
| • Total | 11,981 |
| Website | www.chester-ny.gov |
Chester is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 11,981 at the 2010 census. Chester contains a village, also called Chester.
Chester is the birthplace of Philadelphia-style cream cheese.
The town was first settled in the 1700s by Europeans.
The economy of the early town was based on dairy products, particularly milk, which was brought on by the completion of the Erie Railroad, which ran through Chester, in 1841. After its completion, local farmer Phil Gregory would ship 240 quarts of milk to New York City, which earned the railroad $1.20 in freight charges; Gregory's business eventually grew to 300,000 quarts of milk a day, which in turn gave the Erie Railroad over $1000 in profit.
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) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2) of it (0.24%) is water.
Conjoined NY-17 and US-6 cross the north part of Chester. NY-94 crosses NY-17 south of Chester village.
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,140 people, 3,848 households, and 3,016 families residing in the town. The population density was 482.2 people per square mile (186.2/km²). There were 3,984 housing units at an average density of 158.3 per square mile (61.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.18% White, 6.62% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 2.66% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.93% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.14% of the population.
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