Mattoon, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Mattoon is a city in Coles County
Coles County, Illinois
Coles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,873, which is an increase of 1.3% from 53,196 in 2000. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University....

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 18,555 as of the 2010 census. It is a principal city of the Charleston
Charleston, Illinois
Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,838 as of the 2010 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor Mattoon, Illinois...

–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area
Charleston-Mattoon micropolitan area
The Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in central Illinois, anchored by the cities of Charleston and Mattoon....

.

Mattoon was the site of the "Mad Gasser
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon was the name given to the person or people believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in Botetourt County, Virginia, during the early 1930s, and in Mattoon, Illinois, during the...

" attacks of the 1940s.

History

Early settlers from the South lived in forested areas along the headwaters of the Little Wabash River to the southwest of the present town. They distrusted the prairie, which they saw as the source of fevers.

The history of Mattoon is tied to that of local railroads. In 1853, railroad surveyors from the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

 and Terre Haute and Alton Railroad found their railroads would cross in the Mattoon area, and a burst of investment and land speculation
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...

 began. The two railroads raced to the meeting point, on the understanding that the first to arrive would not have to pay to maintain the crossing. Local settlers marked out the plots for sale with pegs, and the village was originally known as "Pegtown."

In 1861, the town was officially named after William B. Mattoon, the chief construction engineer working for the Terre Haute and Alton Railroad. The reason for this honor is unclear; some say he won the naming rights because his rail crew arrived first. Others say he beat other claimants in a card game, or that Pegtown residents hoped the wealthy Mattoon would invest in the town if they named it after him. With its combination of excellent transportation and remarkably fertile prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

 soils, Mattoon expanded rapidly. By the dawn of the 20th century, Mattoon's growing population and rail access brought manufacturing and industry.

In 1856, The first two babies were born in Mattoon, Charles Cartmell in July and Mollie Puff in September.

On the night before the Lincoln-Douglas debate
Lincoln-Douglas debate
Lincoln–Douglas debate is sometimes also called values debate because it traditionally places a heavy emphasis on logic, ethical values, and philosophy...

 of September 18, 1858, at the Coles County Fairgrounds, both Lincoln and Douglas had slept in nearby Mattoon, http://www.colescounty.net/history_lincoln.html,http://www.vanguardnewsnetwork.com/lettersOct-Nov03/10804bradleyusher2.htm.
On June 17, 1861, General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 took his first post of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 when he assumed command of the 21st Illinois Infantry
21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 21st Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was a militia infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:...

 in Mattoon.

In 1865, Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...

 settlers began a community to the north near Arthur, Illinois
Arthur, Illinois
Arthur is a village in Douglas County and Moultrie County in Illinois; Arthur's primary street, Vine Street, is the county line. The population was 2,288 at the 2010 census. The Arthur area is home to the largest and oldest Amish community in Illinois, which was founded in the 1860s.In 1877 the...

. Amish farmstands and horse-drawn buggies are not uncommon sights in the northern part of Mattoon today.

In the 1890s, Mattoon led the successful campaign to have a proposed college in eastern Illinois located in Coles County. The citizens were chagrined when neighboring Charleston was chosen as the home of the future Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a state university located in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a comprehensive university with a...

 instead.

On May 26, 1917, the town was devastated by a tornado which killed 101 people.

In 1940, the discovery of petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 reserves in the countryside immediately surrounding Mattoon led to a small "oil boom" in the 1940s and 1950s, bringing with it economic benefits and increased civic pride. Oil extraction continues to be an important economic activity. In 1966, Lake Land College
Lake Land College
Lake Land College is a community college in Mattoon in Coles County, Illinois. The college was founded in 1966. It serves 7,400 students, mainly from the east-central Illinois region, in various two-year programs. Lake Land students can earn a degree for immediate employment or use the training...

 was built just south of the city. The community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 offers degrees for immediate employment and pre-university education.

Mattoon was home to several minor-league teams in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The last stadium, with a capacity of approximately 2,000 seats, was torn down in the late 1950s, but the city maintains a strong Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 tradition. Mattoon still has a thriving junior league and hosted many junior league regionals and World Series.

Recent history and current issues

Traditionally a bastion of manufacturing, Mattoon has been challenged by the loss of several major plants in the last two decades. On December 18, 2007, Mattoon was chosen to be the site of the U.S. Department of Energy's FutureGen
FutureGen
FutureGen is a US government project announced by President George W. Bush in 2003; its initial plan involved the construction of a near zero-emissions coal-fueled power plant to produce hydrogen and electricity while using carbon capture and storage....

 power plant, which is a clean-coal gasification project that will build a near zero-emissions
Zero emission
Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, or other energy source, that emits no waste products that pollutes the environment or disrupts the climate.-Zero emission engines:...

 coal-fueled power plant with the intention of producing hydrogen and electricity while using carbon capture and storage.

In 2009, the America’s Power Factuality Tour stopped at Mattoon, Ill., to report on its role in generating electricity in the United States.

After the arrival of the Lender's Bagels
Lender's Bagels
Lender's Bagels is a brand and producer of bagels that pioneered the bagel industry in the United States. Established in 1927 in New Haven, Connecticut, it became a North American leader in the marketing, distribution and sales of bagels. Lender's introduced frozen bagels and sold the first...

 factory in 1986, Mattoon became the self-declared "Bagel
Bagel
A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...

 Capital of the World." The town is also home to the world's largest bagel and an annual summer event called "Lenders Bagelfest."

Education

Mattoon is served by Mattoon Community Unit School District 2
Mattoon Community Unit School District 2
Mattoon Community Unit School District 2 is a unified school district located in the city of its namesake, Mattoon, which in turn is located in Coles County, Illinois. Today, Mattoon's chief school district is composed of four schools: Riddle Elementary School, which serves grades K-5; Arland D....

, one of three school districts located in the county of Coles. The district itself is composed of four schools and the "Neil Armstrong Program at Hawthorne School," of which serves to educate the Developmentally Disabled Children

Lake Land College
Lake Land College
Lake Land College is a community college in Mattoon in Coles County, Illinois. The college was founded in 1966. It serves 7,400 students, mainly from the east-central Illinois region, in various two-year programs. Lake Land students can earn a degree for immediate employment or use the training...

 is a community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 in Mattoon.

Transportation

Transportation is still a vital part of local economic life. Much of the major commercial development in recent years has occurred along Interstate 57
Interstate 57
Interstate 57 is an Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central rail line for much of its route. It goes from Miner, Missouri, at Interstate 55 to Chicago, Illinois, at Interstate 94. I-57 essentially serves as a shortcut route for travelers headed between...

, which crosses the eastern edge of Mattoon.

Rail transportation

Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Mattoon. Amtrak Train 59, the southbound City of New Orleans
City of New Orleans
The City of New Orleans is a nightly passenger train operated by Amtrak which travels between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. Before Amtrak's formation in 1971, the train was operated by the Illinois Central Railroad along the same route . The train currently operates on a 19½ hour...

, is scheduled to depart Mattoon at 11:13pm daily with service to Effingham, Centralia, Carbondale
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...

, Fulton, Newbern-Dyersburg, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, Greenwood, Yazoo City, Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond, and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 58, the northbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Mattoon at 5:23am daily with service to Champaign-Urbana
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...

, Kankakee, Homewood, and Chicago
Union Station (Chicago)
Union Station is a major train station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, replacing an earlier 1881 station. It is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the city's primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between Adams...

. Mattoon is also served by Amtrak Train 390/391, the Saluki
Saluki (Amtrak)
The Saluki is a 310-mile passenger train line operated by Amtrak running between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. The train is a part of the Illinois Service rail network and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation...

, daily in the morning, and Amtrak Train 392/393, the Illini
Illini (Amtrak)
The Illini is a 310-mile passenger train operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. The train is a part of the Illinois Service rail network and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation and by local governments along the route...

, daily in the afternoon/evening. Both the Saluki and the Illini operate between Chicago and Carbondale.

The Illinois Central Station in the heart of downtown Mattoon has recently been totally renovated. It is handicap accessible with an elevator to the lower level train platform. 2.5 million dollars were obtained for it via the 2005 Transportation Bill
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users is a funding and authorization bill that governs United States federal surface transportation spending. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 10, 2005, and expired as of September 30, 2009...

. Today the station is unmanned; passengers boarding at the Mattoon station must order their tickets by telephone or online.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 9.3 square miles (24.1 km²), all of it land. Nearby rivers have been dammed to form Lake Paradise and Lake Mattoon south of the city.

The terminal moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...

 of the Wisconsin Glacier is located just to the south of Mattoon. Heading south on I-57 there is an impressive vista from the top of the moraine at the south Mattoon exit. While the moraine is of Wisconsinan age (about 10,000 years before present), the land to the south is of Illinoian age (about 100,000 years before present). The small oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...

 to the south of the moraine is also attributed to glacial activity: The weight of the glacier to the north created cracks in the underlying bedrock. Oil collected adjacent to these cracks.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 18,291 people, 8,105 households, and 4,676 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,964.8 people per square mile (758.6/km²). There were 8,830 housing units at an average density of 948.5 per square mile (366.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.64% White, 1.42% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.

There were 8,105 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,800, and the median income for a family was $43,780. Males had a median income of $32,339 versus $21,949 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $18,186. About 7.6% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

  • Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, geologist.
  • Patricia Roberts Harris
    Patricia Roberts Harris
    Patricia Roberts Harris served as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Jimmy Carter...

    , US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, last US Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, first US Secretary of Health and Human Services in Carter administration
    Presidency of Jimmy Carter
    Jimmy Carter served as the thirty-ninth President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. His administration sought to make the government "competent and compassionate" but, in the midst of an economic crisis produced by rising energy prices and stagflation, met with difficulty in achieving its...

     and first African American
    African American
    African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

     woman to serve as a US Ambassador, representing US in Luxembourg
    Luxembourg
    Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

    , and the first African American woman to enter line of succession to the Presidency.
  • Kyle Hudson
    Kyle Hudson
    Kyle Jordan Hudson is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles.-College career:Hudson played college baseball and college football at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign...

    , Major League Baseball player with Baltimore Orioles - 2011, football player with the Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois- 2005-2007.
  • Edward Mills Purcell
    Edward Mills Purcell
    Edward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magnetic resonance has become widely used to study the molecular structure of pure materials and the...

    , physicist, Nobel Laureate, educated in Mattoon's public schools..
  • Hope Summers
    Hope Summers
    Hope Summers was an American character actress known for her work on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD, portraying Clara Edwards.-Career:...

    , actress, best known for her recurring role as Clara Edwards on The Andy Griffith Show
    The Andy Griffith Show
    The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...

    .
  • Bill Tate
    Bill Tate
    Bill Tate is a former head coach of the Wake Forest college football program from 1964-1968. He was a graduate from Mattoon High School in Mattoon, Illinois....

    , former head coach of the Wake Forest college football program, Mattoon High School graduate.
  • Arland D. Williams Jr.
    Arland D. Williams Jr.
    Arland Dean Williams Jr. was a passenger aboard Air Florida Flight 90, which crashed on take-off in Washington, D.C. on January 13, 1982, killing 78 people. He was among the six people to initially survive the crash...

    , hero of Air Florida Flight 90
    Air Florida Flight 90
    Air Florida Flight 90 was a scheduled U.S. domestic passenger flight from Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia, to Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a stopover at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida...

    , was born in Mattoon, where an elementary school is named for him.
  • Rick Sims, musician, The Didjits
    The Didjits
    The Didjits were an American punk rock band formed in Sullivan, Illinois in 1983, comprised Rick Sims on guitar/vocals, Doug Evans on bass, and Rick's brother Brad Sims, on drums. Didjits were known for the aggressive guitar playing and persona of Rick Sims, who often baited the audience between...

    .
  • Joseph Knollenberg, Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

     member of the U.S. House of Representatives
    United States House of Representatives
    The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

    , 1993-2009.
  • Will Leitch
    Will Leitch
    William F. Leitch is a writer based in New York City and the founding editor of the Gawker Media sports blog Deadspin...

    , writer.
  • Steven Hatfill
    Steven Hatfill
    Steven Jay Hatfill is an American physician, virologist and bio-weapons expert who underwent what was considered by many to be a trial by media with great toll on his personal and professional life...

    , physician, virologist, and bio-weapons expert.

Lyndon B. Johnson had a niece and nephew who resided in Mattoon, IL.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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