Mattoon Timeline
1818: Illinois entered into the Union
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.
1833: Meteor shower seen by Mattoon residents.
1836: International Improvement Act leads to railroad construction.
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.
