About Chester
Chester sits in the southern end of Thayer County, right on the Nebraska-Kansas line, where U.S. Highway 81 and Nebraska Highway 8 intersect. The original site was chosen between Dry Creek to the north and Rose Creek to the south, which gave the town water without putting it in the flood path. The 2020 census counted 226 residents. There were 232 in 2010 and 294 in 2000. The peak was 634, recorded in 1940.
History
The Republican Branch of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad reached the site in 1880, and the Lincoln Land Company platted the town on 29 July of that year. It was named for Chester A. Arthur. By 1882 about 245 people lived here. Five passenger trains and several freights stopped at the depot every day. In 1906 the Burlington built a turntable for the Chester to Fairmont passenger line.
Six-man football
Chester is where six-man football was invented. Stephen Epler worked out the game at Chester High School in the early 1930s, for schools too small to field eleven players. The rules called for three linemen and three backs, and every player was eligible to receive a pass. At its height roughly 2,000 schools around the country played it.
Chesterfest
The town holds Chesterfest on the last weekend in June, with vendors, tournaments, a car show and concerts in the evening.
Visitor & Travel Categories
Business & Economic Categories
Chester, platted in 1880 and named for President Chester A. Arthur, holds a unique claim to fame as the birthplace of six-man football, invented there in 1934 to give small Depression-era schools a viable alternative to eleven-man football — a format that spread across rural America and is still played today.
With 226 residents as of 2020, Chester remains a close-knit village that celebrates its football legacy each June at Chesterfest, making it one of Thayer County's more distinctively branded small towns.
Navigate & Explore Chester
Get directions: search "Chester Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Thayer County County Cameras: View Thayer County County cameras