"Traversing agricultural cropland, the Oregon Trail passes along the east side of the Portneuf Valley past the community of Chesterfield. Chesterfield Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1879, Chester Call and his nephew Christian Nelson established a ranch here for the grazing of horses. 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. Desiring a more organized settlement, church leaders from Utah designated a townsite, and directed the laying out of a town grid on high ground. The town called Chesterfield after an English location and in honor of Chester Call."

Chesterfield Museum, 1999

View from Chesterfield, 1999

Chesterfield—an 1880s Mormon community that today has several brick homes and some log buildings. This location was an Oregon Trail campsite where some who were ill or tired could lay over. Chesterfield reservoir is nearby.

Directions: North of Hwy 30, west of Soda Springs.

Must see: Chesterfield Museum—Oregon Trail Exhibit

Current Observations/Journal Entry:

"I am reminded of something one of the characters said at the Montpelier Oregon Trail Center as we 'traveled' the trail - there is a partial wagon behind a wooden fence in the median area of the dirt road in front of the school house...the 'wheel' of the wagon is made of wood and the 'tire' is metal. The number of birds in this area is amazing, due to the reservoir probably. I noticed many hawks, two birds that look like rheas, another sits on a fence post and has a long beak, round body, yellow front and tan back."