A post office was established at Chaffee in 1894, and remained in operation until 1966.[2] The community, named for promoter Eben Chaffee, was platted in 1898 soon after the railroad was extended to that point.[3]
Herbert Fuller Chaffee (Eben's son) was a first-class passenger aboard the RMS Titanic, with his wife Carrie Constance Toogood (1864-1931). She survived, but his body was never recovered.[4]