- Allen
- Auglaize
- Crawford
- Darke
- Defiance
- Erie
- Fulton
- Hancock
- Hardin
- Henry
- Huron
- Logan
- Lorain
- Lucas
- Mercer
- Morrow
- Ottawa
- Paulding
- Putnam
- Richland
- Sandusky
- Seneca
- Shelby
- Van Wert
- Williams
- Wood
- Wyandot
Today, Chesterville's long history can still be seen in many of its 19th Century buildings which can find their roots back to around the time of the village's incorporation. What looks much like a country cross road was at one time a strong candidate to become a county seat when Morrow County was created in 1848. However, Chesterville lost that honor to Mount Gilead about 10 miles northwest of here. When the state built a new turnpike that connected Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, there was also hope that new road would go through Chesterville, but again, the community lost out when the final route went further east through Mount Vernon just about 10 miles to the southeast. This was sort of the final blow to Chesterville's future and today it remains just about the same as it was in the 1860s, the only difference is that there are less than half as many people living in Chesterville as there were back then.
Chesterville's name is derived from the township name of Chester. This name was given to the township by Evan Holt who was the original land holder dating back to 1808. Although Evan was a native of Wales, after severing six years in the Revolutionary War, he was given a warrant for this land. Once the land was surveyed Evan moved his family here from Chester Pennsylvania. But the first settler who setup housekeeping in the area was John Walker who purchase 50 acres of land for just 50 cents an acre if he cleared the land. This was in 1808 and at that time, Walker mentioned that just south of his household was an encampment of Shawnee almost exactly where Chesterville would later be located.
Over the ensuing years, more Pennsylvania families of Welsh descent moved into the area. Just before the War of 1812, concerns about the communities safety and the likelihood there might be a British invasion from the north, or there might be an Indian uprising in support of the British (both of which were more than likely). To bring peace of mind to the locals, a blockhouse was quickly built that could provide a place together should either of these events occur. During the war, the Native Americans had departed from the area and only returned after the war and the area that became Chesterville became a favorite trading spot between the Indians and the settlers.
The Indians would remain for months at a time, then suddenly leave for an extended time before returning.
The land had plenty of game including deer, turkeys, and bears plus plenty of wolves. When the state offered a bounty on wolves, wolf skins became legal tender in the area since the state would accept the wolf skins as payment for taxes.
Enos Miles Sr. came to Chester Township and in 1817 he bought a block of property from James Holt. A hotel had already been built on the property about where the library now stands. Enos built his home just west of this location. That intersection became known as Miles Cross Roads and for a time, the village that was beginning to take shape was known as Miles Cross Roads.
In 1829 the village was plotted out with the cross road as the center of town and given the name Chesterville, but it wasn't without a little controversy. Half of the village wanted to officially name the newly plotted town Miles Cross Roads, and the other half wanted to name it Chesterville.
The first official lot of the new village sold on the 11th day of April, 1830. It was located on the northeast corner of the intersection for and sold for $49 (about where the grocery and post office now stand). For a time Chesterville was on the verge of becoming a major intersection of transport. However, when the route between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland was finalized, hopes for Chesterville becoming the county seat faded.
In 1924 Daniel Selover donated $10,000 to Chesterville to build a new public library. He did this in honor of his family that came here originally in the 1830s. William Selover, Daniel's great-grandfather, became one of the wealthiest and most influential agriculturists in Morrow County. In 1983 the library had a new addition. Some of the furniture in the library was made at the Ohio State Reformatory near Mansfield where the Shawshank Redemption was filmed.
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