Chesterfield, Idaho
Chesterfield is a Mormon pioneer town founded in 1880
along the Old Oregon Trail in southeast Idaho.

Chesterfield sits on a grassy hill overlooking the north end of Portneuf Valley. Behind it the Chesterfield Mountains rise gradually in grass-covered slopes that obscure the higher peaks behind. An old church, a school, an old store, along with a number of cabins and a couple houses remain of the one-time pioneer settlement that flourished here. Today ranchers still work the ground, and a few farmhouses lie scattered on the periphery of the town, but Chesterfield itself remains as a museum-piece of the early west. A grid of streets, laid out in a neat pattern aligned with north, marks out the original townsite.

Mormon settlers arrived in Chesterfield from Bountiful, Utah, lead by Chester Call and his nephew Christian Nelson around 1879. Chester persuaded some of his relatives to relocate from Bountiful, Utah, to the area, and by 1882, a number of families were living in the vicinity. Chester was followed to Idaho that year and in the next years by numerous friends and family; their surnames are familiar to Bountiful natives: Tolman, Barlow, Muir, Higginson, Yancey, Hatch, and Sessions. "The common denominator linking" many of the Idaho and Bountiful residents was "their common cousin, Chester Call."

Church histories in the area call the settlement "a small colony from Bountiful." Merle W. Wells refers to it as the "satellite from thoroughly Mormon Bountiful."

The Oregon Trail passed through the town, and the settlers helped travelers who at this point were "tired, discouraged and ill." The town grew to some 400 people, but eventually the changing world brought about its abandonment. The Oregon Trail fell into disuse, and the railroad and main roads passed far to the south. Today the townsite and its structure are protected as a National Historic Site.

A visit to Chesterfield today is a unique trip back in time and a chance to experience the rural agricultural life of a community whose deep faith helped them endure the hardships of life on the frontier. Now unoccupied, 27 structures overlooking the beautiful Portneuf Valley near Bancroft are being restored by descendents of the early settlers and volunteers. The meeting house is now a museum, and tours are available. This is a special experience for youth groups, school groups, family reunions, and family groups. Chesterfield is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Field Trip July 8th 2006

These are reasons why the Bountiful Historical Commission has decided to officially adopt Chesterfield, Idaho as our "Historic Sister City". We extend an invitation to each of you and your spouse to join with us on Saturday, July, 8, 2006, for a trip into the past as we travel to Chesterfield for a tour and ceremonies with the Chesterfield Foundation for this official adoption. It will be a choice experience to view one of the best restored communities in the West.

We plan to leave about 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, arriving in Chesterfield around 11:00 a.m. We will then have a small lunch provided by the Bountiful Historical Commission, followed by the ceremony, and then be treated to a tour of the museum, shops, homes, and community of Chesterfield provided by the Foundation.

So we can better prepare for our trip, we ask that you RSVP your intention of participating to Tom Tolman at 292-1981 with your reservation and how many will be going. We will need to arrange car pooling for the 3-hour drive to Chesterfield in individual vehicles. We look forward to enjoying this outing with you. Please let us know by July 1, 2006.

We thank you for your support and interest in preserving and recording the history of Bountiful.

Respectfully,
The Bountiful Historical Commission
Dean Collinwood, Chairman
Tom Tolman, City Council Representative

Visitor's Guide to Southeastern Idaho: "...The Mormons built Chesterfield, intending it to be a town of size and importance, but it was not to be. Today, Chesterfield is nearly-abandoned, but it is one of the best-preserved western villages of the nineteenth century, and is listed as a National Historic site..."

(Material for much of the information about Chesterfield came from many sources including a biography written by Chester's son Osmond, Bountiful and Chesterfield ward records in the LDS Church Archives, the journals of Thomas Briggs, Chesterfield: Mormon Outpost in Idaho with articles by various authors, including historian Gary B. Speck, Kim Burningham, "Kevin Smith's Untraveled Road", Frank Robertson's book, A Ram in the Thicket, and numerous issues of the Davis County Clipper. In fact many early issues of the Davis County Clipper had a regular column entitled, "Chesterfield Chatters", which related stories and life in Chesterfield in the late1890 thru 1920.)

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