​Chesterville

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Marker Text: In 1894, a Swedish land promoter from Chicago named John Linderholm purchased 60,00 acres of Gulf Coast prairie in portions of Colorado and Wharton Counties. Linderholm was head of the Southern Texas Colonization Company and sought to bright immigrant families to settle and farm the area. 
    The land was advertised by four promotional pamphlets, the first written in Swedish. There was promise of opportunity, with one pamphlet declaring "40 acres a living; 80 acres comfort; 160 acres wealth. Come to Texas!" Immigrants were attached by a free round-trip train ticket for every 160 acres of land purchased. 
    The Chesterville Post Office was established in 1895. The town was named after William P. Chester (1869-1945), who surveyed and platted the land. Chesterville became the railroad destination for many midwestern land-seekers and grew to have about 200 residents with a church, school, hotel, saloon and several stores. 
     Dr. James (Jay) G. Rodger arrived from Chicago in 1898 with a vision for maximizing railroad access for the creation of an educational center for prairie families and students across Texas. Unfortunately, "the great storm of 1900" destroyed much of Chesterville's growth potential and the dream of "the College of Chesterville." The population declined due to land being more suitable for large agricultural enterprises, especially rice cultivation. A rice and grain storage facility still remains, built by the Andersons, one of the early families in the area. Although most historic resources of Chesterville are gone, the site remains an important example of immigrant settlement and land development in Texas (2019) 

Marker No: 22601

17 x 42 Aluminum Subject Marker

Geographic: 

Location: 6.5 miles northeast of Eagle Lake on FM 1093