Chester

History

Chester was laid out in 1905, and named after Chester Township.

Geography

Chester is in the southeast corner of Lake County, south of Brant Lake and southeast of Madison, the county seat. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Chester CDP has an area of , all land. Skunk Creek, the outlet of Brant Lake, forms the western edge of the community and flows south to the Big Sioux River at Sioux Falls. Near Chester is Buffalo Slough, a National Natural Landmark.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  681
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  600
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  533
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  493
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  490
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  469
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  442
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  424

Largest nearby schools

• Chester Elementary -02
  Elementary · Chester · 159 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Chester Area Cyber School - 92
  High · Chester · 123 students · 24.6:1 ratio
• Chester High School - 01
  High · Chester · 116 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Chester Middle School - 03
  Middle · Chester · 75 students · 15:1 ratio
• High Plains - 06
  High · Chester · 52 students
• Rustic Acres Elementary - 04
  Elementary · Madison · 36 students · 18:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2026-01-09
  5 km ENE of Artesian, South Dakota
• M 2.7 — 2023-10-19
  3 km E of Humboldt, South Dakota
• M 3.1 — 2005-10-19
  7 km N of Howard, South Dakota