Chester is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, situated in the western part of the state. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statistical area. The town includes the Chester Factory Village Historic District. The total population was 1,337 in the 2010 census.

History

The area opened for settlement in the 1750s as Township No. 9, chartered as Murrayfield on October 31, 1765. The town was incorporated as Chester on February 21, 1783. The Western Railroad (later Boston & Albany Railroad) opened to Chester on May 24, 1841.

State and U.S. Records

On August 2, 1975, the temperature in Chester rose to 107 °F (42 °C). This remains the hottest temperature ever recorded in the state of Massachusetts, along with a similar reading in New Bedford on the same day. However, on January 12, 1981, the temperature at Chester fell to −35 °F (−37 °C), the coldest temperature ever recorded in Massachusetts. Thus, it is only one of three cities in the United States which has recorded both its state’s extreme temperatures, the others being Millsboro, Delaware and Warsaw, Missouri.