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 Poweshiek
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Chester
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Chester Township
The first permanent settlers of Chester Township were Mr. and Mrs. Jason Sherman, who arrived in 1856, and lived in a shack built by Mr. William Sherman who was one of the first to buy land in the township. They were joined shortly by Henry Sherman and his wife. The first birth was Sarah Sherman, November 19, 1857, to Mr. and Mrs. Jason Sherman.
Chester Township was first organized on October 23, 1860, after being a part of Sugar Creek and Grinnell Townships. It was named after the hometown of a Fisher family who had lived in Chester, VT. The Chester Congregational Church near the center of the township, was organized in 1865 and a building was erected in 1868. A settlement, Chester Center, grew around the church. There was a general store, cheese factory, town hall, post office and library. A Methodist Church was organized in 1867 by the Hays family and others in the northwest part of the township, known initially as the Sonora Methodist Church. The original church building was built in 1874, and now serves as the Sonora Grange Hall. The Sonora settlement had several businesses as well.
