Chester Township is a prosperous community with a "country" atmosphere located in Morris County, approximately 45 minutes west of New York City. Residents of the community enjoy the craft fairs, Victorian house tours, jazz concerts, recreational facilities, and access to cultural and downtown village business centers. On April 3,1930 portions of the township were incorporated to form Chester Borough, a separate municipality surrounded entirely by Chester Township. Although seperate communites the Township and Borough continue to have a close relationship and share schools, community pool, atheletic programs, fire department, first aid squad and service clubs.
Chester Borough, NJ
Chester Borough is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year. (Source: Wikipedia)
Chester Township, NJ
In 1958, Chester Township changed its form of government from the Township Form to a Faulkner Act form, Small Municipality, Plan C. Its structure includes four Councilmembers and a Mayor, all elected at large for three-year terms on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. The candidates run on a partisan basis at regular primary and general election times. Independent candidates, having declared their intentions at primary time, run only in the general election. (Source: Wikipedia)
Education in Chester, NJ
Students from both Chester Township and Chester Borough, in grades K-8 attend the Chester Township Public School District.
Public school students in grades 9-12 attend West Morris Mendham High School, which is located in Mendham Borough and is part of the West Morris Regional High School District. Students in the district come from the surrounding Morris County school districts of Chester Borough, Chester Township, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township and from Washington Township
Parks and Recreation in Chester, NJ
Chubb Park - Donated to the Township by the Chubb Family, this 85 acre facility is the Township's busiest park. It is located on Route 24, 1/2 mile West of Route 206.
Tiger Brook Park - Purchased with the assistance of the New Jersey Green Acres Program in 1980, this 270 acre preserve contains a ten acre reservoir. The Park is located on Cooper Lane, 1/4 mile east of Route 206. A parking lot was constructed in 1992 to accommodate increased visitors to the area. The lot, located immediately adjacent to Cooper Lane, provides access to the preserve's service road and to a system of trails within the park. A map of trails is available from the Township Clerk's office.
MacGregor Preserve - MacGregor Preserve consists of 159.51 mostly wooded acres on Old Chester-Gladstone Road. The property was purchased in January 2001 for $3.2 million from the Estate of Samuel C. MacGregor. This property was purchased through the combination of a Morris County Open Space Trust Fund grant, a grant from the State Green Acres Program and money from the Township Open Space Trust Fund.
The MacGregor Preserve is adjacent to the Township's existing Tiger Brook Park and together, the two parks provide 430 acres of contiguous open space. Peapack Brook, a major tributary of the North Branch of the Raritan River and a state classified Trout Production stream flows through the park.
Hiking trails connect the MacGregor Preserve with Tiger Brook Park. The entrance to the property is located on Old Chester-Gladstone Road, just south of Route 206 where a gravel parking area for 8 cars is provided.
Evans Family Forest Preserve - The Evans Family Forest Preserve was purchased in December 1999 with a combination of funds from the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund, a Green Acres Grant from the State of New Jersey and funds from the Chester Township Open Space Trust Fund. This 110-acre tract is primarily wooded. It is traversed by Ayers Brook, which is classified as a Trout-Production Stream. This park is available for passive recreation. A trail system for hiking is currently under construction.
Future plans are for the addition of an interpretive nature trail and Scout Camping Area. Catch-and-release fishing for trout in Ayers Brook is permitted but restricted to artificial lures with barb-less hooks only.
Evans Preserve can be accessed at the Trailhead located at the end of Willow Drive where parking area is available or at the Trailhead on South Road where there is a gravel parking area that can accommodate 2 cars.
Highlands Ridge Park - The newest addition to the Township's parkland, the 113 acre Highlands Ridge Park (formerly Bell Labs' Telcordia Tract) was purchased in July 2004. Directly adjacent to the Evans Family Forest Preserve, the two parcels combined provide a total of 223 acres of contiguous parkland. Locally known as the "Telephone Pole Farm", the park was formerly a long-term test facility for AT&T.
The Township is in the process of developing a long range plan for the use of this park. Telcordia provides a connection between the Evans Preserve and the remainder of the permanently preserved open space in the Township. Currently, the system of hiking trails in the Evans Preserve is being expanded to provide access to Telcordia for hikers. The property was purchased for $6 million which was paid for with a combination of Township funds, a grant from the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund and a State of New Jersey Green Acres grant.
Black River Park - This park is located on property leased from the West Morris and Chester Township Boards of Education. Two tournament quality multi purpose fields complete with an underground irrigation system were constructed in 1995 and were opened for use in 1996.
A permanent concession building with bathroom facilities has also been added. The building was constructed and funded by the Chester Police Athletic Association. A little league baseball field was completed and a small picnic area is available. The park is located on Route 513 (North Road) 1 mile east of Route 24.
Hacklebarney State Park - This 890-acre (3.6 km2) park was established in 1924 with the donation of 32 acres (130,000 m2). The Black River, which bisects the park, is one of the premier trout fishing streams in New Jersey.
Chester Area Pool - The Chester Area Pool is located on 4.7 acres adjacent to the Black River Middle School, on North Road. There is ample parking, and areas for sunbathing, relaxing in the shade and recreational activities. The complex currently consists of a 60' x 150' heated main pool, (handicapped accessible), a 76' x 52' shallow interactive pool, a filtered infant pool with a nearby play structure, waterslide, and concession stand. The administration building, also provides bathrooms, showers, and changing facilities. Members are encouraged to take part in various pool activities, including social events, swim team and swim lesson programs.
