Chesterfield, Missouri, traces one hundred eighty-one years of history as a named community. Justus Post was the driving force behind the first Chesterfield in 1817, followed by the Christian and Edward Burkhardl eras in 1877 and 1918. Bonhomme, Gumbo, Monarch, Lake, and Bellefontaine were other early communities within the present borders, each with its own post office, and each contributed to Chesterfield's rich heritage. In the 1960s and 1970s, commercial and residential development transformed a rural west St. Louis County area into the vibrant City of Chesterfield, incorporated June 1, 1988.