About Chester Borough
Chester is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,649, reflecting an increase of 14 from the 1,635 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 421 from the 1,214 counted in the 1990 Census.
Chester Township was established as a separate political entity on April 1, 1799, including the area of both the Township and the downtown settlement which came to be the Borough. The Borough of Chester was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 3, 1930, based on the results of a referendum held on April 25, 1930, and is today a separate municipality surrounded entirely by Chester Township. The borough's name is derived from the township, which was named for Chestershire in England.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.596 square miles, including 1.594 square miles of land and 0.002 square miles of water.
The borough is completely surrounded by Chester Township, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.
Dense forests and hiking trails surround the town of Chester. It was named one of the top ten most beautiful towns in New Jersey in 2016. There are various recreational state parks, such as Hacklebarney State Park and Black River Country Park, which contains a popular tourist site called the Cooper Mill. These parks serve as quintessential family activities, especially going on hikes and observing the foliage during the fall. On the outskirts of Chester, Willow wood Arboretum, operated by the Morris County Park Commission, covers 130 acres of gardens, meadows and walking / hiking trails.
Students in public school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Chester School District, together with children from Chester Township. As of the 2014-15 school year, the district and its three schools had an enrollment of 1,834 students and 109.5 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 16.7:1. Schools in the district are Dickerson Elementary School (grades PreK-2; 344 students), Bragg Intermediate School (3-5; 354), and Black River Middle School (6-8; 464).Dickerson and Bragg Schools are located on County Route 510, east of Chester Borough; Black River Middle School is on County Route 513, north of Chester Borough.
Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades in both communities attend West Morris Mendham High School, which serves students from the surrounding Morris County school districts of Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough and Mendham Township. The high school is part of the West Morris Regional High School District, which also serves students from Washington Township, who attend West Morris Central High School. As of the 2015-16 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,334 students and 103.2 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.9:1.
