1830:    Charter granted for organizing Coles County Illinois (Named in honor
            of Governor Edward Coles)

1831:    Lincoln Family settles in Coles County, 3 miles southeast of the site
            chosen for Mattoon.

1832:    Close of Blackhawk War.  Increased expansion into the west.

1833:    Meteor shower seen by mattoon residents.

1836-    International Improvement Act leads to railroad construction.
1837:

1851:    Illinois Central Railroad is incorporated.

1854:    Mattoon is mapped out as a town site.

1855:    Terra Haute & Alton Line crosses with Illinois Central Line in
            Mattoon.

1856:    Mattoon's first newspaper, The Weekly Independent Gazette, begins
            publication.

1857:    Mattoon becomes a village and elects board of trustees.

1861:    Mattoon becomes a city by way of Charter.

1865:    First National Bank of Mattoon is established.
            Broomcorn is first grown in the county.

1866:    Doles Opera House opens as Mattoon's first theater.

1871:    Northern Coal & Mining Company established.

1874:    Mattoon National Bank established.

1878:    Peoria, Decatur, & Evansville Railroad begins service.

1891:    Sidewalks of concrete are laid on Broadway Avenue.

1897:    First street fair is held (the first of its kind in the state).

1903:    Andrew Carnegie library dedication.

1906:    The first motion picture theater, The Bijou, is opened.

1907:    Train wreck between Mattoon and Charleston kills 18 and injures
            54.

1917:    Tornado strikes and kills 85 people, injuring hundreds.

1926:    Mattoon produces a movie entitled "Mattoon's Hero".

1930-    Pet Parades and circuses relieved anxieties for children during the
1940s:     Depression and World War II.

1937:    The K Theater is burned down, remodeled, and renamed as the
            Time Theater.

1940:    Oil is discovered south of the city.