Chesterfield Township was originally formed on November 6, 1688. It was named after the 2nd Earl of Chesterfield whose seat of Chesterfield was in Derbyshire, where many of the township's earliest settlers had lived. The township was reformed by Royal charter on January 10, 1713, and was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships by the Township Act of 1798 of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form New Hanover Township (December 2, 1723) and Bordentown borough (December 9, 1825).