More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #620 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Matteson was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Matteson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Matteson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Matteson is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #620 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Matteson’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Matteson’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Matteson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area encompassed by modern Matteson was settled by Europeans in the late 1800s, primarily by settlers of German descent. Platted in 1855, Matteson had nearly 500 residents when it incorporated as a village in 1889. The village's namesake is Joel Aldrich Matteson, who served as Illinois' tenth governor from 1853 to 1857. The 20th century saw improvements in plumbing, the electrification of the Illinois Central Railroad, and the construction of today's school district, resulting in significant population growth: the village's population exceeded 3,000 by the late 1960s. Lincoln Mall opened in 1973, annexing 195 acres of land for the village in the process; the mall closed in 2014 and was demolished in 2018. Present-day Matteson is home to more than 20,000 residents and hundreds of businesses. It is near Ingalls Memorial Hospital and Advocate South Suburban Hospital, two major hospital…
Passages that mention Matteson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cook County, Illinois. From the earliest period to the present time1884 · page 884Read the page →
Read the text
This littlo ham let is situated near the southern line of the county, twenty-nine miles south of Chicago and only one mile directly south of Matteson. The I llinois Central road has a dej>ot here, while immediately north, at Matteson, is the crossing of the same road with tho Michigan Central lino, giving to the place and to the farmers roundabout splendid railroad facilities. Among those to first settle iu this vicinity were
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cook County, Illinois. From the earliest period to the present time1884 · page 883Read the page →
Read the text
Matteson. is situated at the junction of the Illinois Central aud Michigan Central railroads, and is one of the oldest German hamlets in Cook County The village was surveyed Tor N. D. Ellwood of Joliet aud Jacob Rich of Kichton, in lSoo. The first house on it was built by Charles Ohiendorf, iu July of that vear. Mr. Ohiendorf was also the first merchant in the place. In 1S56 John Fox built a house and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Matteson, 1856 to 1998
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Matteson post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.
How does Matteson rank for history?
Matteson is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #620 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Matteson?
5% of Matteson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1996.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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