Chester, Illinois

Chester is the "Home of Popeye," where a 6-foot (1.8 m), 900-pound (410 kg) bronze statue of Popeye the Sailor Man stands in the Elzie C. Segar Memorial Park, which honors Popeye's creator, Elzie Segar. The park is located next to the Chester Bridge. Several of Segar's characters were created from his experiences with people of Chester. Chester's big event is its annual Popeye Picnic and parade, held the weekend after Labor Day. Popeye fans travel from all over the United States and the world to partake in the weekend activities. Most of the events and entertainment are free and all are family friendly.

New statues honoring the other Thimble Theater characters are added each year.[9]

Part of the Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge,[12] is located along the Mississippi River at Chester.

Chester is connected to Perry County, Missouri via a river bridge known as the Chester Bridge. The Chester Bridge was first constructed on August 23, 1942, as a toll bridge. Sections of this bridge were destroyed by a storm in July 1944, but it was reopened in August 1946. Tolls ceased to be collected on January 1, 1989.

Chester now has Channel 10 through Cable TV. It broadcasts events, post announcements and upcoming community events, relays emergency notices and much more to the citizens of Chester. Students from the Chester Grade School contribute daily broadcasts from the school.

Chester's newspaper was the Herald Tribune until it ceased publication in 2022.[13] The local radio station is KSGM.

On April 11, 1842, Charles Dickens, the author of A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations, visited Chester with his wife.[14] Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a pilot on the Mississippi River between 1857 and the Civil War, supposedly on many of his trips stayed at Chester's Cliff House, a fine river hostelry. Twain also mentioned the blue windows of Chester's Cohen Home, visible from the Mississippi, in his book Life on the Mississippi.[14]

The Chester post office contains a federally commissioned mural, Loading the Packet, painted by Fay E. Davis through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. A former postal employee favored the mural so strongly that he said if the building should catch fire, the mural should be saved rather than the mail.[15]

Chester was the filming location of scenes from the 1967 movie In the Heat of the Night and was only mentioned in the 1993 movie The Fugitive.[16]

Chester is located at 37°54′50″N 89°49′23″W (37.913947, -89.823140).[17]

According to the 2010 census, Chester has a total area of 5.826 square miles (15.09 km²), of which 5.81 square miles (15.05 km²) (or 99.73%) is land and 0.016 square miles (0.04 km²) (or 0.27%) is water.[18]

As of the census[21] of 2000, there were 8,400 people, 2,018 households, and 1,283 families residing in the city. The population density was 879.9 inhabitants per square mile (339.7/km²). There were 2,229 housing units at an average density of 378.3 per square mile (146.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.87% White, 3.59% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 2,018 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,079, and the median income for a family was $49,426. Males had a median income of $36,103 versus $22,239 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,190. About 5.4% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

The Illinois Department of Corrections Menard Correctional Center is located in Chester.[22][23] Prior to the January 11, 2003 commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Menard, Tamms, and Pontiac correctional centers. After that date, only Pontiac continued to host the male death row.[24]

Large employers include the private label food company Gilster-Mary Lee, Corp., the maximum security Menard Correctional Center, and the maximum security forensics mental health center, Chester Mental Health Center.

There are eleven churches located in Chester. These churches consist of the New Life First Pentecostal Church, First Baptist Church, First Christian Church of Chester, Family Worship Center Assembly of God, First Presbyterian Church, First Apostolic Pentecostal Church, First United Methodist Church, Grace Church Ministries, Peace Lutheran Church ELCA, St. John Lutheran Church LCMS, and St. Mary's Help of Christians Roman Catholic Church.[25]

• Shadrach Bond, first Governor of Illinois
• William Hartzell, U.S. Representative
• Elias Kane, U.S. Senator and architect of the Constitution of Illinois
• Nora Lane, actress
• Pierre Menard, first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
• E.C. Segar, creator of Popeye
• Tom Wham, game designer

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chester, Illinois.

• City of Chester official website
• Popeye & Friends Character Trail official website
• Randolph County Herald Tribune
• Sun Times News Online
• 618 Football - Chester Yellow Jackets