Chester Factory Village Historic District

Chester Factory Village is a compact village center in a hill-ringed valley along the West Branch of the Westfield River in western Massachusetts. Its modest houses, stores, churches, schools and industrial buildings sit on small lots close to the street. The earliest surviving structure is the Fay house of 1752, and a few turnpike-era buildings date from around 1800. The Western Railroad, laid out in 1838 and running trains from 1841, shifted commerce to Main Street and brought Greek Revival cottages, general stores and an Italianate hotel. The abrasives industry and granite cutting and polishing yards drove the peak of growth from the 1870s to 1915, leaving Victorian residences, a brick grammar school and an emery company complex. Public buildings from 1915 to 1935 include a Catholic church, a Tudor Revival high school and a Georgian Revival town hall. Industrial decline after 1935 meant little new construction, so the village keeps its historic appearance. It was listed for its architecture and its community development history.