Mattoon, IL (MAT)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$943,353

Station Ridership

FY 2011

38,328

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The Amtrak stop in Mattoon is located at the former Illinois Central Railroad station, which has served passengers since 1918 and was once called the “entrance hall” to the city. The three story red brick depot formerly housed a power plant, mail room, luggage room, and restaurant, in addition to the main hall. Today the station serves as a stop for the Illini, Saluk, and City of New Orleans; for the last, it is a flag stop only.

In 2001, the Coles County Historical Committee began Project Depot, a renovation plan for the Mattoon depot, and the project received a grant from the Great American Stations Foundation. An initial renovation of the roof was completed in 2002 and the depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2005, the project received a commitment of $2.74 million in federal grants from the Transportation Bill, and around $400,000 in private donations to cover the majority of the city’s 20 percent share. Renovations of the depot will include brick and marble repairs, restroom improvements, an elevator to assist passengers with disabilities, exterior touch-ups (including windows and masonry), climate control system updates, and reworking of interior ceilings, floors and woodwork.

On April 20, 2010, Mattoon city commissioners accepted a $385,000 Capital Assistance Grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation to renovate the station’s platform. The renovation will help the platform meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Since the IC (now CN) tracks used by Amtrak pass through Mattoon below street level, the conversion of the old freight elevator shaft to passenger use will mark the first time a daunting series of flights of steps will not be the only option for passengers coming and going from the city.

The depot is to be the heart of Mattoon’s business district redevelopment. The Coles County Historical Society has mapped out five phases of the project, the final of which is the installation of a museum about the history of the county. The former Illinois Central Railroad has also been considered as the future site of a high-speed rail line, and should the plan go forward, the depot will be ready to serve the passenger influx.

Mattoon was founded by the meeting of two railroads in 1855—the Illinois Central and the Terre Haute & Alton. The two railroads raced to the meeting point, on the assumption that the first one there would not have to pay to maintain the crossing. Settlers in the area marked out their lots with pegs, and the area became known as “Pegtown.”

The town was named after William B. Mattoon, the chief construction engineer for the Terre Haute & Alton Railroad. It is unknown why Mattoon received the honor, but it is possibly because his railroad reached Mattoon first. Mattoon grew rapidly thanks to its fertile prairie soils and rail access. Manufacturing and industry continued to grow because of the railroads’ influence.

Trains once brought Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas to Coles County for their September 18, 1858, debate at the Coles County Fairground. The candidates slept in Mattoon the night before the debate. On June 17, 1861, General Ulysses S. Grant assumed his first post as commander of the 21st Illinois Infantry in Mattoon.
In 1865, Amish settles started a community north of Mattoon. It is still common to see their farm stands and horse-drawn buggies today.

In 1940, the discovery of petroleum reserves surrounding Mattoon led to a small oil boom. The oil industry continues to be an important contributor to the local economy. Although Mattoon has lost several manufacturing plants in the last two decades, in 2007 the town was chosen to be the site of the U.S. Department of Energy’s FuturGen zero emission power plant.

Mattoon is known as the home of the “original” Burger King, a restaurant owned by the Hoots family. The Hoots family trademarked the name in Illinois. Later, the Florida Burger King chain registered a federal trademark. In 1968, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the chain had rights to the name everywhere but in Mattoon, because the federal trademark indicated priority over the state trademark.

Notable residents of Mattoon include former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Patricia Roberts Harris, actress Hope Summers, and Nobel Laureate Edward Mills Purcell.

Mattoon’s neighboring city, Charleston, contributes both residents to Mattoon and passengers to the station as it is the home of Eastern Illinois University (EIU). The communities work together to shuttle some of EIU’s 12,000 students, plus facility, staff and others, to reach Amtrak trains and other points of interest.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at this facility.

Mattoon is served by six daily trains.