Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Matheson

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Matheson

Matheson’s post office opened in 1915, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1891 on.

1915first post office
0on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Matheson began

When was Matheson founded?

1915

The Matheson post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mattison (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 79111 years
Founding year: the first Matheson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Matheson’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1984. Watch Matheson change.Old housesHalf of Matheson’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Matheson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Matheson’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDuncan Matheson (1849–1915): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Matheson on the map, 1891 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Matheson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Matheson on the 1891 USGS mapMatheson on the 1970 USGS mapMatheson on the 1984 USGS map1891Limon sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Matheson.

The story

How Matheson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Matheson.

Read it all →

The town was named after Duncan Matheson, the original owner of the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Matheson, 1889 to 1919

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Mattison post office opens
  3. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1915Post officeThe Mattison post office closes
  6. 1915Post officeThe Matheson post office opens
  7. 1919In the archiveDuncan Matheson (1849–1915)
By decade

Matheson, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Duncan Matheson (1849–1915)1919Duncan Matheson (1849–1915)
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Matheson, Colorado2021Matheson, ColoradoFormer church in2021Former church inMatheson, Colorado2013Matheson, ColoradoMatheson, Colorado post office2010Matheson, Colorado post office
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Duncan Matheson (1849–1915)
Retake this viewDuncan Matheson (1849–1915), 1919

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Matheson’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Matheson’s post office has been open since 1915. Another post office, Mattison, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mattison
1889–1915
Matheson
1915–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Matheson’s history

What year was Matheson founded?

The Matheson post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.