BlockBefore

Chester, Oklahoma

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Fairview census division. It lies in ZIP code area 73838. The Survey maps it on the Seiling quadrangle. 176 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,716 feet above sea level.

Chester within Major County

Population over time

2 figures

Chester grew from 117 to 176 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010117
2020176+59 (+50%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 8 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

13 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Chester between 2000 and 2017, burning about 42,374 acres in total. 3 started naturally. None was 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/undetermined5
Debris and open burning3
Natural3
Equipment and vehicle use1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
14 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined248 acresOklahoma Division of ForestryCHESTER
12 September 2000Natural5.0 acresConcho Field OfficeSLEEPY
10 July 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined41,497 acresOklahoma Division of ForestryCHESTER
8 June 2000Natural3.0 acresConcho Field OfficeSHANE
20 June 2011Equipment and vehicle use381 acresConcho Field OfficeINDIAN SCHOOL
18 June 2001Recreation and ceremony1.5 acresConcho Field OfficeCAMP
16 June 2001Debris and open burning5.0 acresConcho Field OfficeBULL
12 June 2012Debris and open burning2.0 acresConcho Field OfficeSUNDANCE

Every fire recorded in Major County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Chester: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Unknown Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Major County

Storms near this place

58 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chester in 58 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 37 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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
May 1998Thunderstorm WindChester$50,000no account filed
March 2026Thunderstorm WindChester$25,000A tractor-trailer was blown over along U.S. Highway 281. The location is approximate, and the event time is estimated based on radar observations.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindChester$6,000Several power poles were downed along Highway 281, 5 miles south of Highway 412. Monetary damages were estimated.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindChester$5,000Tree branches downed and shed blown over.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindChester$5,000Several power poles downed.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindChester$1,500A large tree was downed on Highway 60.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindChester$1,000no account filed
October 2002Thunderstorm WindChester$10Ten inch diameter tree limbs were downed.
August 1996Thunderstorm WindChester$10no account filed
April 2026HailChester-Reported by a National Severe Storms Laboratory Research Team. The location is approximate, and the event time is estimated based on radar observations.
May 2024Tornado (EFU)Chester-This tornado was observed by storm chasers including research meteorologists from NSSL. The tornado moved northeast in generally inaccessible rural areas and/or canyons north of Chester where damage was not observed. The tornado path is estimated.
May 2024HailChester-MPing report. Time adjusted based on radar imagery.
May 2017Tornado (EFU)Chester-Chasers from OKC TV stations and others observed a brief tornado estimated to be about 10 miles north of Chester. No damage was reported.
May 2017Tornado (EF0)Chester-This tornado moved into Major County from Woodward County and continued moving north-northeast before dissipating.
April 2017Tornado (EFU)Chester-A KOCO (TV) storm chaser observed a third tornado to the NNW of Chester. No damage was observed and the specific tornado path is estimated.
September 2008Flash FloodChester-Water covered parts of Highways 281 and 60 making them impassable.
May 2024HailChester-no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindChester-no account filed
June 2018HailChester-no account filed
May 2013HailChester-no account filed
May 2013HailChester-no account filed
October 2007HailChester-no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindChester-no account filed
July 2006HailChester-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindChester-no account filed
March 2004HailChester-no account filed
March 2004HailChester-no account filed
April 2004HailChester-no account filed
April 2004Thunderstorm WindChester-no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindChester-no account filed
April 2002HailChester-no account filed
June 2002HailChester-no account filed
August 2002HailChester-no account filed
April 2001Thunderstorm WindChester-no account filed
June 2001HailChester-no account filed
May 2001HailChester-no account filed
June 2001HailChester-no account filed
June 2001HailChester-no account filed
April 1999HailChester-no account filed
April 1999HailChester-no account filed
May 1999HailChester-no account filed
June 1999HailChester-no account filed
September 1998HailChester-no account filed
July 1998HailChester-no account filed
April 1998HailChester-no account filed
October 1998HailChester-no account filed
October 1998HailChester-no account filed
June 1998HailChester-no account filed
May 1996HailChester-no account filed
June 1996HailChester-no account filed
September 1996HailChester-no account filed
September 1996HailChester-no account filed
March 1996HailChester-no account filed
September 1995HailChester-no account filed
April 1995HailChester-no account filed
June 1995HailChester-no account filed
August 1994Thunderstorm WindChester-no account filed
October 1994HailChester-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Major 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
Phroso7.0 miles8
Orion7.5 miles8
Bado9.4 miles8
Bouse Junction14.3 miles8
Dane16.0 miles8
Togo16.3 miles8
Cheyenne Valley17.5 miles9
Cedar Springs17.9 miles8

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ChesterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5679129The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1091261. 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.