BlockBefore

Chester, New York

25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Chester town. It lies in ZIP code area 10918. The Survey maps it on the Warwick quadrangle.

Chester within Orange County

Then and now

1906 to 1986

The same ground, surveyed 80 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Chester, surveyed 1986
Topographic sheet of Chester, surveyed 1906

On record in Chester

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 25 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

524 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 524 fires within 5 miles of Chester between 1995 and 2020, burning about 373 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 75 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined250
Arson/incendiarism75
Debris and open burning73
Smoking59
Misuse of fire by a minor28
Equipment and vehicle use16
Natural9
Recreation and ceremony5
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Other causes2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New YorkNA
8 September 2015Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New YorkNA
7 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New YorkNA
6 September 2016Arson/incendiarism1.3 acresFire Department of New YorkN/A
6 September 2000Arson/incendiarism2.5 acresFire Department of New Yorknot named
5 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
4 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New YorkNA
29 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Orange County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 12 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 12 workings within 5 miles of Chester: 7 past producers, 4 producers, 1 prospect. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Goshen QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Goshen Quarry and MillLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary
Bull MineIronPast Producer
Bull MineIronPast ProducerMagnetite
Ranier Hill ProspectIronProspect
Blooming Grove PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Chester PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Chester PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Chester PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Chester Pit and PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Orange County

Storms near this place

16 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chester in 16 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2024Thunderstorm WindChester$15,000Tree through deck, landed on pool and car on High Street.
September 2023LightningChester$15,000Light started a house fire in Chester NY.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindChester$12,000Trees reported down on a house in Chester.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindChester$10,000Tree down on home on Cromwell Road in Chester NY.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindChester$10,000Trees were reported down around town.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindChester$6,000Half a dozen trees across highway 17W in Chester.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindChester$5,000Roof damage to a vacant school on 3 Maple Avenue in Chester.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindChester$4,000Wires down on Lake View Drive and trees and wires down on Black Meadow Road and Pine Hill Road.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindChester$3,000Tree on wires in Chester.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindChester$1,000Tree down and road closed on NY 17 eastbound west of exit 126.
July 2025Flash FloodChester-Major flooding on NY 17 near exit 125, roads closed.
June 2021Flash FloodChester-The basement of a home at 19 Conklingtown Road in Chester was reported flooded. Radar estimated rainfall amounts in the area were greater than 3 inches over the previous hour.
June 2021Flash FloodChester-The basement of a home at 2 Moffatt Lane in Chester was reported flooded. Radar estimated rainfall amounts in the area were greater than 3 inches over the previous hour.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindChester-Tree and large branches down.
July 2006HailChester-no account filed
April 2002HailChester-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Orange County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Valley View At Chester0.4 miles25
East Chester0.6 miles25
Renee Gardens0.7 miles25
Greycourt0.8 miles25
Otter Kill1.6 miles25
Craigville2.4 miles31
Sugar Loaf3.0 miles25
Oxford3.0 miles32

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 946539. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.