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History · Mathews Township

Mathews Township’s post office opened in 1899, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1899 on.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Mathews Township began

When was Mathews Township founded?

1899

The Mathews Township post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Drakola (1889) and Mathews (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 125127 years
Founding year: the first Mathews Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mathews Township’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 Mathews Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1985. Watch Mathews Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mathews Township.Old housesHalf of Mathews Township’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mathews Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Mathews Township on the map, 1899 to 1985

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

Mathews Township on the 1899 USGS mapMathews Township on the 1971 USGS mapMathews Township on the 1985 USGS map1899De Smet 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 Mathews Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Drakola
1889–1905
Mathews
1899–1907
18801950today
Gone or out of use
DrakolalocaleIndian Mounds MonumentlocaleMathews CreamerylocaleMathews Post Officepost officeSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 20schoolSchool Number 21schoolSchool Number 23schoolSchool Number 24schoolSchool Number 26schoolSchool Number 27schoolSchool Number 28schoolSchool Number 29schoolSchool Number 48schoolSchool Number 5school
1cemetery inside Mathews Township
Johnson

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

The story so far

Mathews Township, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1899. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 120 to 125 (+4%).

Timeline

Mathews Township, 1889 to 1907

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Drakola post office opens
  3. 1899Post officeThe Mathews post office opens
  4. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Post officeThe Drakola post office closes
  7. 1907Post officeThe Mathews post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

De Smet TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarthage TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrafton Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEsmond Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWhitewood Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManchester TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBaker TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mathews Township’s history

What year was Mathews Township founded?

The Mathews Township post office opened in 1899, 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 →
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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 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.