Chester, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chester
City
Randolph County Courthouse
Nickname(s):  Home of Popeye
Location of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Chester Location in Illinois Show map of Illinois Chester Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Randolph
Area
• Total	5.82 sq mi (15.08 km2)
• Land	5.81 sq mi (15.04 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation	633 ft (193 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,640
• Density	1,173.61/sq mi (453.14/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	62233
Area code(s)	618
FIPS code	17-13139
GNIS feature ID	2393819
Wikimedia Commons	Chester, Illinois

Chester is a city in Illinois, United States. It is the main town of Randolph County, Illinois. Chester is located on a high cliff overlooking the Mississippi River. In 2020, about 7,640 people lived there. The city is about 61 miles (98 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri. Chester is also known as the "Home of Popeye," honoring the famous cartoon character.

History of Chester

Early Days and Founding

The city of Chester began in 1829. A man named Samuel Smith built the first house. He also started a ferry service and built a mill. The town was named after Chester, England, where his wife was from.

The first store opened in 1830. A business that made castor oil also started. Farmers grew beans, and the company bought them to make oil. This business was very successful until oil became more common. The first wedding in Chester happened in a small log cabin in 1834.

Cole Milling Company

The H.C. Cole Milling Company started in 1839. It began as a small sawmill that could also grind corn. This encouraged people to grow more grains. Soon, the first Cole flour mill was built. Today, the mill is still in Chester and is run by Ardent Mills.

Nathan Cole, who started the mill, also brought the first electric generator to Chester. He used extra power from the mill to light up the streets. This was very modern, even for big cities like Chicago at the time. The original generator is now on display at the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Shoe and Hosiery Factories

In 1916, the International Shoe Company built a factory in Chester. By 1922, it had over 1,000 employees. They made thousands of pairs of children's shoes. During World War Two, the factory made military boots for soldiers. The factory closed in the early 1960s after 45 years.

Another factory, the Prim Hosiery Mill, opened in 1925. It made stockings. It grew to have over 275 employees. They produced more than 300,000 pairs of stockings each month. This factory also operated through the 1960s.

Chester Community Pool

Construction for the Chester Pool started in 1939. It was part of a program called the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This program helped create jobs during the Great Depression. The pool opened on May 30, 1942. It cost 15 cents to swim on weekdays. Sadly, the pool has been closed since 2014 due to leaks and high repair costs.

Home of Popeye

Chester is famous for being the "Home of Popeye." There is a large, 6-foot (1.8 m) tall, 900-pound (408 kg) bronze statue of Popeye the Sailor Man. It stands in the Elzie C. Segar Memorial Park. This park honors Elzie Segar, who created Popeye. The park is located near the Chester Bridge. Many of Segar's cartoon characters were inspired by people he knew in Chester.

Popeye's Picnic and Parade

Chester's biggest event is the annual Popeye Picnic and parade. It happens the weekend after Labor Day in September. Popeye fans come from all over the world to join the fun. Most events are free and great for families.

The Popeye Picnic has rides, food, music, and fireworks. The Popeye Parade is on Saturday morning. Before the parade, there's a walk and run event. Top runners and walkers get medals and trophies. Many local groups join the parade. These include school bands, dance teams, cheerleaders, and floats from businesses. Fire departments, veterans, and politicians also march. Clowns give out stickers and candy.

New statues of other characters from the Popeye cartoons are added each year. Many people and businesses help make the picnic happen by donating money and time.

Parks and Historic Places

A part of the Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge is in Chester. It is located along the Mississippi River. This area protects wildlife and nature.

Bridges

Chester is connected to Perry County, Missouri by the Chester Bridge. This bridge crosses the Mississippi River. It was first built in 1942 as a toll bridge. This means people had to pay to cross it. Parts of the bridge were damaged by a storm in 1944. It reopened in 1946. People stopped paying tolls on January 1, 1989.

Local Media

Chester has a local TV channel, Channel 10, on cable. It shows local events and community announcements. It also shares emergency notices. Students from Chester Grade School help create daily broadcasts.

Chester's newspaper was the Herald Tribune. It stopped publishing in 2022. The local radio station is KSGM.

Famous Connections

Many famous people have connections to Chester.

• On April 11, 1842, Charles Dickens visited Chester. He wrote famous books like A Christmas Carol.
• Mark Twain, who wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was a riverboat pilot. He supposedly stayed at Chester's Cliff House often. Twain also mentioned Chester's blue windows in his book Life on the Mississippi.

The Chester post office has a special mural called Loading the Packet. It was painted by Fay E. Davis. A former postal worker loved the mural so much he said it should be saved if the building ever caught fire.

Chester was also a filming location for parts of the 1967 movie In the Heat of the Night. The city was also mentioned in the 1993 movie The Fugitive.

Geography

Chester is located at 37°54′50″N 89°49′23″W / 37.91389°N 89.82306°W / 37.91389; -89.82306. The city covers an area of about 5.83 square miles (15.08 km²). Most of this area is land. Only a very small part is water.

Population and People

In 2020, Chester had a population of 7,640 people. The city has grown and changed over many years.

Economy

Chester has several important employers. These include:

• Gilster-Mary Lee, Corp., a company that makes food products.
• The Menard Correctional Center, which is a high-security prison.
• The Chester Mental Health Center, a facility for mental health care.

Education

Public Schools

Chester Community Unit School District No. 139 has two public schools:

• Chester High School
• Chester Grade School

Private Schools

Chester also has two private schools:

• St. John's Lutheran School
• St. Mary's Catholic School

Churches in Chester

There are eleven churches in Chester. They represent different Christian faiths. Some of these churches include:

• New Life First Pentecostal Church
• First Baptist Church
• First Christian Church of Chester
• Family Worship Center Assembly of God
• First Presbyterian Church
• First Apostolic Pentecostal Church
• First United Methodist Church
• Grace Church Ministries
• Peace Lutheran Church ELCA
• St. John Lutheran Church LCMS
• St. Mary's Help of Christians Roman Catholic Church

Notable People

Many interesting people have connections to Chester:

• Shadrach Bond, the first Governor of Illinois.
• William Hartzell, a U.S. representative.
• Elias Kane, a U.S. senator. He helped create the Constitution of Illinois.
• Nora Lane, an actress.
• Pierre Menard, the first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois.
• E.C. Segar, the creator of Popeye.
• Tom Wham, a game designer.

Images for kids

• 

  Randolph County Courthouse

See also

In Spanish: Chester (Illinois) para niños