Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mattoon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mattoon is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #205 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mattoon’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 Mattoon’s 4.2 sits above most of its state (74% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1853.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Mattoon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
One of the main factors determining the settlement of Mattoon and Coles County in general was the topography. Coles County straddled a timberline in the southern half and prairie in the north. The forested areas were primarily fed by two major rivers: the Embarras River in the east and the Kaskaskia in the west. The prairie, known as the "Grand Prairie", was generally wet and swampy. An early historian described the geography:
Passages that mention Mattoon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Coles County, Illinois ... map of Coles County1879 · page 498Read the page →
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their coming, in March, 1827, and that he made the first settlement in the township. His claims, however, seem not to be so well authenticated as those of Drake. In June, 1827, Charles Sawyer, who is recorded as the first settler of Mattoon Township, stopped a few days at the Hart settlement, and then moved north and west to his place of settlement. The settlers of 1827 were Daniel Drake, Uncle Tommy Hart and his sons Miles H., Moses and Thomas. There may, indeed, have been two or three other families, but, if so, their names have been lost or are incorporated with those of a later date. In February, 1828,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Coles County, Illinois ... map of Coles County1879 · page 279Read the page →
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The close of the late rebellion threw upon the country a large force of unemployed men, and a vast amount of capital. This latter was used in opening new enterprises, and, as the States had learned to let such affairs alone, men with tact and energy stood ready to enter upon them. A railroad from Mattoon to Danville ; from Mattoon to Gray ville, thence to Evansville ; from Charleston to several other towns in the State, was proposed, while roads in various directions across the county were projected. Of these enterprises we will mention none save the successful ones : the Grayville & Mattoon, the Decatur, Mattoon
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Coles county, Illinois..1879 · page 279Read the page →
Read the text
The close of the late rebellion threw upon the country a large force of unemployed men, and a vast amount of capital. This latter was used in opening new enterprises, and, as the States had learned to let such affairs alone, men with tact and energy stood ready to enter upon them. A railroad from Mattoon to Danville ; from Mattoon to Gray ville, thence to Evansville ; from Charleston to several other towns in the State, was proposed, while roads in various directions across the county were projected. Of these enterprises we will mention none save the successful ones : the Grayville & Mattoon, the Decatur, Mattoon
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Coles county, Illinois..1879 · page 485Read the page →
Read the text
showed over two hundred voters in this township, as large a vote as has been polled since. When the reader remembers that six years before, no one lived on the prairie in the township, he can readily see how rapidly it settled. The opening of the railroad brought the city of Mattoon just over the western border of this township, and the village of Stockton in its midst. It also brought easy transportation to tlie products of the farmers, and allowed a closer and more general cultivation of the soil. The majority of the timber of sufficient size to be of practical use in building was by this time about all gone, leaving a growth
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
Mattoon, 1843 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1853, according to Wikidata. Mattoon’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 5,737 people here.
How does Mattoon rank for history?
Mattoon is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #205 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.
What is on the National Register in Mattoon?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the U. S. Post Office (listed 1979, the first), and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Mattoon?
32% of Mattoon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (16), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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