With help from the Center and a grant from Preserve New York, the Adirondack Town of Chester is getting ready to create a historic district that encompasses its historic hamlet of Chestertown. The initiative will support community and economic development. 

The Northern Forest Center helped the Historical Society of the Town of Chester secure the grant from Preservation League of New York State to cover most of the costs of establishing the historic district. 

“Vibrant downtowns are critical to creating communities where people want to make a life,” said Adam Bailey, Adirondack Program Manager. “A historic district acknowledges that Chestertown has the bones of an attractive, walkable downtown and creates opportunities for continued investment.” 

The Preserve New York grant is offered annually to advance community-oriented preservation activities. The Historical Society will use the grant to retain Roblee Historic Preservation of Auburn, NY, to conduct a hamlet-wide survey of the approximately 150 historic homes, businesses, and other properties that help tell the story of over two centuries of life in Chestertown. 

“We’re thrilled to receive this award,” said Ryan Hutton, Historical Society board member, owner of the Carol Theatre building, and Center partner. “This enables us to pursue a historic designation that not only recognizes our storied past but also opens opportunities for property owners to maintain and improve Chestertown’s historic core buildings.”  

Chester Celebrates 225th Anniversary

The award comes as the community is celebrating the Town’s 225th anniversary. While that’s a big anniversary, some Chestertown’s buildings date even further back to the 1700s. In addition to a long history of farming, tanning, and logging, the community was for many decades a major crossroads for traffic headed from Montreal to points south and it offered travelers many grand hotels, restaurants, and other services.  

Today, the interstate has reduced through-traffic and led to a decline in downtown business, but the hamlet continues to be a service and shopping center for surrounding communities. “In recent years there has been new investment in many of the main street’s historic storefronts,” said Bailey. “The Historical Society and others in the community want to build upon on that momentum.” 

Over the next year, Roblee Preservation will work closely with the Historical Society, the town historian, the State Preservation Office, and local residents and property owners to create a detailed history of properties within the proposed district.  

Using the results of the research Roblee will prepare the nomination documents to send to the New York State Historic Preservation Office with the goal that the district is accepted onto the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Any properties determined to contribute to the district’s historic importance will also be included on the historic registers and become eligible for public and private programs that can help with repairs and renovations. 

Designation May Bring Further Grant Opportunities

Center staff have supported this work as part of its broader work in Chester and the Adirondacks under the Attracting New Residents Strategy, which notes that strong downtowns with thriving businesses and quality housing are important to creating communities that can attract and retain residents and young families. The Center will continue to be involved in the project, providing project management and assisting with public outreach 

“If Chestertown succeeds in earning designation as a historic district, the Center may be able to identify other grant opportunities that property owners can take advantage of,” said Bailey. “We can also lend our experience with historic tax credits to larger projects that could benefit from the program, like the long-desired investments in the Carol Theatre and the rehabilitation of the Rising House Hotel.” 

If all goes to plan, within a year the community should have an official designation at both the state and national levels. This will give property owners another avenue for investing in their properties, removing blight, and creating attractive homes and storefronts to help rebuild the bustling downtown that many in Chestertown still remember.