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History · Matherville

Matherville’s post office opened in 1911, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1920.

1911first post office
0on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Matherville began

When was Matherville founded?

1911

The Matherville post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mathersville (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 886 in 19202020 census: 707115 years
Founding year: the first Matherville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Matherville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Matherville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19125 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1991. Watch Matherville change.Old housesHalf of Matherville’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Matherville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Matherville on the map, 1912 to 1991

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

Matherville on the 1912 USGS mapMatherville on the 1944 USGS mapMatherville on the 1953 USGS mapMatherville on the 1975 USGS mapMatherville on the 1991 USGS map1912Milan sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story so far

Matherville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Matherville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Matherville is a village in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 707 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1911. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 723 to 707 (-2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Matherville, 1910 to 1912

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910Post officeThe Mathersville post office opens
  3. 1911Post officeThe Mathersville post office closes
  4. 1911Post officeThe Matherville post office opens
  5. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Matherville, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Matherville, Illinois2012Matherville, IllinoisILMap-doton-Matherville2006ILMap-doton-Matherville
People over time

Matherville, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 886

Between 399 and 886 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Matherville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Matherville

Nobody well known was born in Matherville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Suzy BoggussAmerican musician · b. 1956
Ethan HappMacedonian basketball player · b. 1996
D
Doris LeeAmerican painter, printmaker and muralist · b. 1905
K
Ken BowmanAmerican football player · b. 1942
Judson Churchill WelliverAmerican speechwriter · b. 1870
Baby Doll JacobsonAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Matherville’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Mathersville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mathersville
1910–1911
Matherville
1911–today
19101970today

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

Questions about Matherville’s history

What year was Matherville founded?

The Matherville post office opened in 1911, 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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.