Chester, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Chester is a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 (CDP) in Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...

, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 20,987 at the 2010 census.

History

Chester's original "downtown" was a stop on the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad
Richmond and Petersburg Railroad
Richmond and Petersburg Railroad was a regional railroad serving east-central Virginia. It was strategically important to the Confederacy during the American Civil War, when it provided a vital supply and transportation route in late 1864 and early 1865 for Robert E...

. The Chester Station was the scene of a battle during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Chester today is a bedroom community
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...

 along State Route 10
Virginia State Route 10
Virginia State Route 10 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 360 in Richmond east to SR 337 in Suffolk. SR 10 is a major suburban highway through Chesterfield County between the Southside of Richmond and Hopewell...

. Recent commercial development in Chester has emerged at the sprawling intersection of SR 10 and U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 in Virginia
U.S. Route 1 in the U.S. state of Virginia runs north–south through South Hill, Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria on its way from North Carolina to the 14th Street Bridge into the District of Columbia...

 (Jefferson Davis Highway
Jefferson Davis Highway
The Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway was a planned transcontinental highway in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s that began in Washington, D.C. and extended south and west to San Diego, California; it was named for Jefferson Davis, who, in addition to being the first and only President of...

) near the on-ramp to Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in Virginia
In the Commonwealth of Virginia, Interstate 95 runs through the state. It runs concurrently for with Interstate 64 in Richmond, and meets the northern terminus of Interstate 85 in Petersburg. Though Interstate 95 was originally planned to go straight through Washington, D.C., it was instead...

. Wrexham Hall is said to be haunted by the "Lady in Red", probably one of the most famous spirits in Chester. The area was damaged by Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed near the Cape Verde Islands from a tropical wave on September 6 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...

 in 2003.

Geography

Chester is located at 37°21′12"N 77°26′9"W (37.353449, -77.435767).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the CDP has a total area of 34.4 sqkm. 34.1 sqkm of it is land, and 0.3 sqkm of it (0.90%) is water.

Demographics

At the 2000 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, there were 17,890 people, 6,727 households and 5,119 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 531.7/km² (1,377.1/mi²). There were 6,951 housing units at an average density of 206.6/km² (535.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 81.3% White, 13.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 6,727 households of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.04.

Age distribution was 28.3% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.

The median household income
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...

 was $53,171, and the median family income was $60,632. Males had a median income of $44,167 versus $30,295 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the CDP was $23,258. About 6.5% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Local media

Chester is served by the local newspaper The Village News, which has a circulation of approximately 12,000, and is distributed at 230 locations in the area. The paper was first published in 1998.

Also circulating is the Chesterfield Observer, a county-wide newspaper.

Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

, the 2008 Democratic Presidential nominee, stopped at John Tyler Community College
John Tyler Community College
John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. John Tyler is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and offers 17 associate degree programs,...

 in Chester on August 21, 2008.

Education

Chester is served by Chesterfield County Public Schools
Chesterfield County Public Schools
Chesterfield County Public Schools is the school system of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Almost 59,000 students are enrolled in 62 Chesterfield public schools...

. Students are also able to apply to Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology
Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology
The Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology is a public regional magnet high school in downtown Petersburg, Virginia....

 and Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies
Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies
The Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies is a public regional magnet high school in Richmond, Virginia....

.

Schools include Thomas Dale High School
Thomas Dale High School
Thomas Dale High School is a public school located in Chester, an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States.It was named for Sir Thomas Dale, a 17th century leader in the Virginia Colony...

, L. C. Bird High School
L. C. Bird High School
Lloyd C. Bird High School is a public high school in Chesterfield, an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It is part of Chesterfield County Public Schools and is located at 10301 Courthouse Road.-Accreditation:L.C...

, Carver Middle School, Enon Elementary, Marguerite Christian Elementary, C.E. Curtis Elementary, C.C. Wells Elementary, Ecoff Elementary, Harrowgate Elementary, and Elizabeth N. Scott Elementary.

Chester Village Green

Chester Village Green has a mix of restaurants, homes, businesses, and apartments in the area. On September 10, 2008, a building collapsed in Chester Village Green. Village Green also hosts many Chester events.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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