Chester, Orange County, New York

Not to be confused with the Warren County, New York town also called Chester.
Chester
Town

Location in Orange County and the state of New York.
Chester

Location of Chester in New York

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
Population (Census 2010)[1]
  Total 11,981
Website www.thetownofchester.org

Chester is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 11,981 at the 2010 census.[1] The town is named after another city in Great Britain. Chester contains a village, also called Chester.

Chester is the birthplace of Philadelphia-style cream cheese.[2]

History

The town was first settled around 1721. The town of Chester was organized in 1845 from parts of the towns of Blooming Grove, Goshen, Monroe, and Warwick.

The economy of the early town was based on dairy products.

Geography

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.

Demographics

As of the census[1] 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.

There were 3,848 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 111.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $69,280, and the median income for a family was $75,222. Males had a median income of $53,528 versus $36,673 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,900. About 2.7% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Chester

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chester, Orange County, New York.