Chester New York Real Estate offers pretty homes, in a pretty landscape, not too far from NYC. If the country life is for you but the mountains are not, Chester may be just the place! Let's explore Chester...
The Orange County Town of Chester, in the black dirt region of Warwick Valley (more on this later!), is encircled by flourishing orchards, horse farms and wineries. In the 1970's, the village was a crafts center of dedicated artisans, now the Sugar Loaf Arts & Crafts Village, comprising everything from workshops and galleries in original 1700s structures to a world-class performing arts center, in the benevolent shadow of Sugar Loaf Mountain.
Fun fact! Philadelphia cream cheese originated here. For proof, visit the Chester Historical Society to see photos of William Lawrence’s rustic creamery and the Lawrence Neufchatel cream cheese imprint plate. Kraft bought Lawrence’s plant in 1928, and to this day sells his Neufchatel as Philadelphia cream cheese.
But, the Town of Chester boasts of a heritage above and beyond cream cheese, and some of the surviving buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. For one, there’s the 1915 Erie Station, Chester’s local history museum, where the Historical Society holds its monthly meetings. To get an authentic taste of the town, don’t miss their events, including the annual yard sale fundraiser, penny social and holiday special exhibitions. Being directly on the Heritage Trail, several yearly charity walks and runs avail themselves of the Museum's hospitality. The Historical Society is involved in modern Chester as well, maintaining this list of community businesses and resources for locals and newcomers.
