Matteson, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Village of Matteson
Village
Motto(s):  A Home for Business, A Heart for Family, The Underpreephs City
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Counties	Cook
Township	Rich
Incorporated	1889
Area
• Total	9.32 sq mi (24.14 km2)
• Land	9.29 sq mi (24.05 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.09 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,073
• Density	2,054.17/sq mi (793.12/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	708
FIPS code	17-47540

Matteson is a village in Cook County, Illinois and a south suburb of Chicago. The population was 19,073 at the 2020 census.

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 / 41.50972°N 87.73917°W / 41.50972; -87.73917 (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

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

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. Demolition of the mall site commenced in May 2017. Several big-box retailers, including Target and JCPenney, 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.

Matteson is also the home of Park Place Realty Group LLC, which was recently featured in Black Enterprise Magazine, owned and operated by Calvin & Ro'Shunda Russell.

Education

Matteson is home to three school districts. Elementary School District 159 and Matteson School District 162 serve separate portions of Matteson for grades PK-8. All of Matteson is within the Rich Township High School District 227.

Matteson School District 162

• Arcadia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Matteson
• Richton Square
• Sauk
• O.W. Huth

Elementary School District 159

• Colin Powell
• Marya Yates
• Sieden Prairie
• Woodgate

Rich Township High School, the only public high school operated by the high school district, serves Matteson. Previously Matteson was divided between the attendance boundaries of Rich Central High School and Rich South High School.

Residents of the village may also attend Southland College Preparatory Charter High School.

The Matteson Area Public Library District serves the community. Its current library opened in 1993. An addition with 7,500 square feet (700 m²) of space opened in 2015, bringing the total space to 30,300 square feet (2,810 m²).

See also

In Spanish: Matteson para niños