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Chester, Nova Scotia

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Chester, Nova Scotia
Village
photo by Jeff vienneau www.avinova.ca
photo by Jeff vienneau www.avinova.ca
Motto: 
A Progressive Community
Map
Country Canada
Province Nova Scotia
CountyLunenburg County.
MunicipalityChester Municipal District
Government
 • WardenAllen Webber
 • Deputy WardenFloyd Shatford
 • Chief Administrative OfficerDarrell Hiltz
Population
 (2001)
 • Total
1,591
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-3 (ADT)
Postal code
B0J 1J0
Area code902
Telephone Exchanges275 277 279 299 980
Part of a series about
Places in Nova Scotia

Chester (2001 pop.: 1,591) is an unincorporated Canadian village located in Nova Scotia's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County.

Geography

The village is roughly centred on 44°32′25″N 64°14′23″W / 44.54028°N 64.23972°W / 44.54028; -64.23972. It is situated on the Chester Peninsula, which extends into Mahone Bay.

Front Harbour, Chester

The village has two natural harbours, Front Harbour on the east and Back Harbour on the west. The village is also immediately south of Stanford Lake.

History

Chester was officially founded in 1759 as the Shoreham grant, although French fishermen had already built a few houses on the site. The first permanent European-descended settlers were a group from Massachusetts who came to the area in 1761.

Chester is one of the wealthiest communities in the province as a result of being a vacation and resort destination, with many seasonal and year-round estates and mansions. The nearby waters of Mahone Bay and its numerous islands are well known for yachting and have made Chester into a cruising destination. A ferry from the village connects to Big Tancook Island and Little Tancook Island.

Chester was the site of a controversial plebiscite regarding the status of the village. A committee had been formed in hopes of changing the status of Chester by incorporating as a town, thereby leaving the Chester Municipal District. Many residents of the village fought the motion, citing higher taxes, costs for a town hall, a mayor, and water and sewage services as reasons to not incorporate. Villagers also noticed that several of the members of the committee advocating incorporation as a town were some of the wealthiest people in the area. The motion was defeated in a public plebiscite.

Festivals and events

The village is home to the Chester Playhouse one of the best-known community theaters on Nova Scotia's South Shore. Chester is well known for its annual summer sailing regatta, Chester Race Week, where keelboats from all over the eastern coast of North America compete during the second full week of August.

Movies

Scenes for several films, miniseries, movies of the week, and television shows have been shot in and around Chester:

References

Template:Geolinks-Canada-cityscale

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