Chesterfield Township is comprised of three villages: Chesterfield, Crosswicks and Sykesville. The Majority of the first permanent settlers were Quakers who arrived in 1677 and settled in and around Crosswicks, the oldest of the three villages.

Chesterfield Township was incorporated by a special act of the Legislature in 1798.  It comprises just over twenty-two square miles and still retains its rural atmosphere which is reflected in the rather sparse population of slightly more than 3,000 residents as reflected in the 1990 census.