The discovery was significant because only 24 such cannon are known to exist, says Scott Coleman, past president of the Chester County Historical Society. Disarming and restoring each 1,150-pound cannon was Coleman's goal. Those settlers left behind their strong work ethic and interest in education and religion, says Ann Marion, a native who studies local history. Wiley was the first physician to employ a woman nurse during surgery. Chester's library is a genealogist's dream, says Marion.
People come from all over the United States.
The Lewis Bell room is named after a prominent citizen who gave much to Chester. That's not unusual, Marion says. We have good people, good givers, strong churches and feelings of kinship and friendship and love for friends black and white. We're mighty good people, and that makes a difference. SOME OF THE BEST education for blacks in the South happened in Chester, where The Presbyterian Church USA operated Brainerd Institute from 1868 to 1939.