Chesley is a community in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada, located within the municipality of Arran-Elderslie. Its town slogan is "The Nicest Town Around." Chesley is located north of both Walkerton on Bruce Road 19 and Hanover on County Road 10.The town was named after Solomon Chesley, a former official in the Indian Department in Canada West. It is now an example of a typical rural Ontario community.Chesley originally developed around mills built on the Saugeen River around 1858. It expanded further when it was connected to the Grand Trunk Railroad in 1881. A great fire destroyed most of the original downtown core in 1888, and the destroyed wood buildings were replaced by brick and stone.From 1877 to 2004, the town had a weekly newspaper called The Chesley Enterprise.The town's major source of employment is commercial manufacturing. From 1886 to 1987, the Krug family operated the Krug Bros. furniture manufacturing business. Currently Crate Designs, a locally owned furniture manufacturing factory, is the only surviving furniture factory, following the recent downsizing of Durham Furniture .