A history of Mattoon,
since 1853
Postcards, papers and photographs of Mattoon from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗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:
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Mattoon’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Mattoon
See all 24 →
Mattoon, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as 1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Coles County - Mattoon - ED 15-16 - ED 15-30 (1880) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.