Nearby places include Middle River, Bowleys Quarters, Essex, and Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

Following the Civil War, Chase became populated by freed African American slaves, who established farms and residences along Eastern Avenue Extended.

During World War II, Chase received a population boost following the opening of the Glenn L. Martin Company aircraft plant in Middle River.

[4] In the 1980s, groundwater testing revealed contamination, and on February 21, 1990, the area was listed as one of Superfund's "most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites.

In the 1980s, Chase became a part of the zip code 21220 after a new, larger post office was built in Middle River to serve the entire area.

The crash also caught the attention of President Ronald Reagan, who honored some of the local people of Chase for helping passengers who escaped shaken but unharmed from the trains.

These efforts have included the razing of half of the Formerly Tidewater Village & Whispering Woods (now Hopkins Point)[6] apartment complex in the late-1990s, the opening of the MD 43 extension in 2006, and the addition of sidewalks along Eastern Avenue in 2007.