Chester located near the northwest shore of Lake Almanor slowly evolved over the years. The townsite was not surveyed until 1911. In the early years, it was typical mountain summer resort town, and its population shrank during the winter season.
In the spring of 1922, changes were on the horizon and Chester witnessed its first unofficial subdivision. The Red River Lumber Company was extending its main logging line westerly and not far from Chester proper the company established a logging camp there known as Camp 57. It was definite boost to the town’s population as the camp was home to over 200 men. The two communities did share one thing in common. Both Chester and Camp 57’s population dramatically declined in the winter.
Tim
Tim, My mother and her husband and their daughter lived at Camp 57 in about 1927. Her huaband Vern Jenks was a saw filer for Red River Lumber Company. In about 1929 they built a comfortable log house beside the Feather River in Chester. The house is still in the family. Incidentally her brother Mickey Huff married June Purdy, daughter of Gordon Purdy in about 1939.