History of Chesterfield MO

Originally, what is recognized as current-day Chesterfield was the site of six communities — including Chesterfield. But as time went on, the surrounding towns began to diminish, leaving Chesterfield as the sole standing community.

Justus Post, coming to the area from Middlebury, Vermont, in 1815, ultimately obtained more than 21,000 acres, laying out the original town of Chesterfield in 1817. Like many communities of its time, the face of Chesterfield changed with the advent of the railroad. Both Drew Station and Burkhardt’s General Store (which doubled as a hotel) were constructed at the southeastern intersection of the tracks and what is now known as Old Chesterfield Road. The burgeoning settlement soon developed around this bustling town center.

The foundation of modern-day Chesterfield came in the 1960s, when Louis Sachs began developing Chesterfield Village, consisting of 1,200 acres that includes condominiums, apartments and office buildings surrounding a large, regional shopping mall. Chesterfield Village spurred much growth in the community, leading to incorporation as a city on June 1, 1988. Today, Chesterfield continues to expand and prosper, thanks to the hard work of both early and current leaders.