Chester

Chester, part of the Then & Now series, places the history of this North Jersey community in a new light by contrasting the old and the new. Vintage photographs are paired with contemporary ones, showing both the changed and unchanged elements of the scene. Zephaniah Drake’s Brick Tavern, established after the opening of the Washington Turnpike, still stands in the center of town. But the Chester that was once an important iron-mining center, with 30 mines and two railroads, has disappeared from view.