Chesterfield is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,542 at the 2000 census. It includes the village of Spofford. Chesterfield is home to Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area, and parts of Pisgah State Park and Wantastiquet Mountain State Forest.
Granted in 1735 by Colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts, this town was the site of "Fort Number 1," first in the line of forts bordering the Connecticut River. After New Hampshire became a separate province, the town would be incorporated in 1752 by Governor Benning Wentworth as "Chesterfield," named for Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. The town contains some of the finest farmland in Cheshire County, yet once was home to small manufacturing, notably spinning wheel parts and handtools.
In 1772, Philip Embury conducted the first Methodist religious services in New Hampshire at the James Robertson farm in Chesterfield, and in 1803, Francis Asbury preached here. Asbury Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is recognized for its historic puritan design. Asbury Church is considered the "Mother Church of Methodism" in New Hampshire, and is the oldest Methodist church in New Hampshire. The town has had continual Methodist Sunday services for over 225 years.
Chesterfield Academy, established in 1794, was for decades one of the most celebrated in the state. Spofford Lake is one of the region's largest and oldest resorts. Chesterfield is the birthplace of former Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, born in 1872.
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