About Us

MISSION
The Chesterfield Community Council, established in 1952, is a not-for profit community based organization whose sole purpose is to promote, unify and assist in all endeavors pertaining to the Chesterfield Community.

GEOGRAPHICAL
The Chesterfield community is located in Chicago, Illinois twelve miles south of the downtown area. The land was originally a marsh and low-laying swamp in the late 1800s. When Illinois Central Railway came into existence, they established a method of quick transportation for commuting to and from city and rural areas. The area adjacent to Chesterfield is Chatham. Dauphin Park, located between 87th and 93rd Streets, State Street and the Illinois Central tracks, was laid out in 1889 after Chatham was annexed to Chicago as a part of the Village of Hyde Park and the Town of Lake.

DEMOGRAPHICS
Dauphin Park, which was later called Chesterfield, was settled by Hungarian and Irish railroad workers. The Chesterfield Community is truly unique. It’s adjacent to the heavily populated Chatham community and encompasses Chicago’s smallest area, Burnside. By the early 1900s, Chesterfield was residentially mature. Its housing stock consisted of primarily small frame, brick and two-flat homes, most of which are standing today. In 1920, the population of Chesterfield was estimated at 1,800, which included Poles, Hungarians, Irish and Italians as the most prominent ethnic groups. As Chicago’s social patterns began to change under the impact of the growing migration of southern blacks, so did the neighborhood. In the early 1950s, Blacks began to migrate further south into areas such as Chatham.