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Mattoon Railroads in the Nineteenth Century

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Mattoon

Coles County

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Mattoon Railroads in the Nineteenth Century

The Mattoon Railroad Crossing is the reason Mattoon exists. Before Mattoon was chosen as the location of the railroad crossing, there were only a few people living in the area, but after the tracks were in place the population boomed and continued to increase dramatically throughout the 19th century. The town was planned around the crossing and its effect on the planning and organization of the city can still be seen today. Although the original railroad tracks are no longer in use, the railroad continues to shape Mattoon today in both its physical appearance and significance to Coles County.

Timeline of the Railroad in Mattoon

Mattoon: Changes in the Railroad

mattoon an the railroad maps 

 Growth in Mattoon*

growthinMattoon

The greatest increase in larger farms and industry happened during the 1860s, the decade in which the Civil War took place. Following the Civil War, the number of factories increased from 19 to 52. There was also a large population growth during the Civil War period, increasing from 1,967 to 4,970. Although the population continued to grow between 1870 and 1880, when manufacturing increased the most, it did so more slowly. This suggests that the war itself was the cause of the increase of manufacturing, not population.

*The Agricultural schedules and Manufactures and Industrial schedules are unavailable for 1890 and 1900 due to destruction by fire and Congressional order respectively.

Bibliography

Images

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"City in Brief." Mattoon Gazette, April 13, 1894. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com.
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"City in Brief." Mattoon Gazette, June 20, 1879. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com.
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"Luxury: The Bee Line Route (I. & St. L. and C. C. C. &I. RY's.)." Mattoon Gazette, March 1, 1887. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4615174/ccc_i_ry_mattoon_gazette_4_mar_1887/.

"Mattoon City Ordinances. An Ordinance: Relating to the Working of Streets and Alleys in the City of Mattoon." Mattoon Gazette, July 1, 1861. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4615244/mattoon_city_ordinances _mattoon/.

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"New Railways in Illinois." Alton Telegraph, January 19, 1872. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4616120/alton_telegraph/.

"Peoria, Decatur & Evansville R'y.: Shortest and Most Direct Route Between Peoria and Evansville." Mattoon Gazette, August 17, 1883. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4615076/peoria_decatur_evansville _ry_ad/.

Smith, J.W. Birds Eye View of Mattoon, Illinois 1884. Map. Chicago: Shober & Carqueville, 1884. From Library of Congress, Map Collections. http://www.loc.gov/resource/ g4104m.pm001671/ (accessed March 14, 2016).

Summers, Alexander. Mr. Mattoon's City: 1855-1955: 100 Years—The Story of Illinois: 1855-1955: 90 Years—The Story of Mattoon's First Permanent Bank. Mattoon, IL: National Bank of Mattoon, 1955. Accessed March 16, 2016. https://archive.org/details/ mrmattoonscity1800summ.

"The Decatur, Mattoon and Southern Railroad Company.: A New Organization." Mattoon Gazette, March 16, 1877. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com. https://www. newspapers.com/clip/4628736/decatur_mattoon_and_southern_rr/.

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"Time Tables.: Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis." Mattoon Gazette, February 13, 1862. Accessed March 14, 2016. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4614751/terre_haute_alton_st_louis_time/.

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This webpage was created by Colleen Filipek, Historical Administration Graduate Student, Class of 2015-2016