Matteson, Illinois

History

The area encompassed by modern Matteson was settled in the mid 1800s, primarily by people of German descent. Platted in 1855, Matteson had nearly 500 residents when it incorporated as a village in 1889. The village's namesake is Joel Aldrich Matteson, who served as Illinois' tenth governor from 1853 to 1857. The 20th century saw improvements in plumbing, the electrification of the Illinois Central Railroad, and the construction of today's school district, resulting in significant population growth to more than 3,000 residents by the end of the 1960s. By 2000, Matteson was home to Lincoln Mall (opened 1973) and annexed 195 acres of land for the village.

For most of its history, Matteson's population was majority white. However, by the 2010s, the village became majority African-American. The director of Chicago Metropolis 2020, Carol Sonnenschein, stated that the desire for higher quality neighborhoods and public schools drove the black influx into Matteson. In 1980, 8,288 residents were white, comprising 84% of the village's population, while 12% of village residents were black. By 1990, Matteson, with a total of 11,400 residents, had 5,687 white residents, making up 53% of the village, a percentage decline of 31% in a ten-year span; 44% of the total number of residents in Matteson were black. By 1995 48% of the residents were black and 45% were white. In 2010, 78.72% of the residents were black and 16.3% of the residents were white.

In 1995 Matteson officials started a campaign encouraging white homeowners to buy houses in the village. Some Matteson residents, white and black, did not want their communities to become overwhelmingly black and lose racial diversity. The Chicago branches of the NAACP and some other black residents criticized the campaign, arguing it was racist. Some other critics stated that the blacks moving to Matteson were wealthier than the whites they replaced.

As of 1996, white residents were concentrated in the older, eastern portion of Matteson, while black residents generally lived in newer subdivisions located in the western portion of the village.

Geography

Matteson is located at 41°30′35″N 87°44′21″W (41.509832, -87.739267).

According to the 2010 census, Matteson has a total area of 9.354 square miles (24.23 km²), of which 9.32 square miles (24.14 km²) (or 99.64%) is land and 0.034 square miles (0.09 km²) (or 0.36%) is water. The village's topography is mostly flat.

Matteson is bordered by Park Forest and Olympia Fields to the east, Country Club Hills and Tinley Park to the north, Frankfort to the west, and Richton Park to the south.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 19,009 people, 6,778 households, and 3,553 families residing in the village. The 2000 Census recorded a the population density of 1,811.2 people per square mile (699.1/km²) and 4,712 housing units at an average density of 660.2 per square mile (254.8/km²). For 2010, the racial makeup of the village was 78.7% African American, 16.3% White, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population. A Dateline NBC episode in 1997 focused on Matteson and the issue of racial balance.

According to 2000 Census Data, there were 4,561 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the village, the population was spread out with 5.9% of persons under the age of 5, 27.1% under the age of 18, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years as of 2000. The percent of female persons in the village totaled 54% by the 2010 census data.

The most recent estimate of median income for a village household was $67,170, measured in 2014. In the year 2000, the median income for a family was $65,666. Males had a median income of $46,075 versus $33,339 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,024. In 2000, about 2.7% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over. In 2014, 10.8% of the population was estimated to be in poverty.

Economy

Matteson was home to Lincoln Mall, which was located at Cicero Avenue and US Highway 30. Once one of the Chicago Southland's major regional shopping centers, Lincoln Mall experienced a protracted decline beginning in the 1990s and closed on January 7, 2015. Several big-box retailers, including Target and JCPenny, are located in close proximity to the former mall, as are hotels and low/midrise office buildings.

The 110-acre (0.45 km²) Matteson Auto Mall, just west of Interstate 57 along US Highway 30, is the largest agglomeration of automobile dealerships in Illinois. The Matteson Auto Mall was originally developed by David Miller in 2001. Valspar operates a paint manufacturing facility in Matteson.

Government

Matteson is in Illinois' 2nd congressional district.

Education

Matteson is home to two school districts including Elementary School District 159 and Matteson School District 162. [1][2]

Rich Township High School District 227, which has its headquarters in Matteson, operates public high schools serving Matteson. Different portions of Matteson are zoned to each of the three Rich Township district schools: Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Rich East High School in Park Forest, and Rich South High School in Richton Park. Residents of the village may also attend Southland College Preparatory Charter High School.

The Matteson Area Public Library District serves the community.

Notable people