Matheson, Colorado

The post office in June 2010.

Matheson, Colorado
—  Town  —
Location in Elbert County and the state of Colorado
Coordinates: 39°10′20″N 103°58′35″W / 39.17222°N 103.97639°W / 39.17222; -103.97639Coordinates: 39°10′20″N 103°58′35″W / 39.17222°N 103.97639°W / 39.17222; -103.97639
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Elbert[1]
Elevation[1]	5,801 ft (1,768 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	94[citation needed]
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code[2]	80830
Area code(s)	719
GNIS feature ID	0195128

Matheson is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office in Elbert County, Colorado, United States. The Matheson Post Office has the ZIP Code 80830.^[2]

Established in the mid 1880's by Duncan Matheson a native of Scotland. Mr. Matheson came to Elbert County Colorado with his wife Jessie and their six children, Donald, Robert, John, William Norman and Janet.

As a farming and ranching community with a sideline industry of soft coal mining and the desire of personal independence, many from the east gathered in Matheson, Colorado.

Early businesses in Matheson included a depot, lumber yard, hotel, bank, blacksmith, general store, livery, drug store, and of course a saloon. Dr. Lewis White was an early physician.

A community church was constructed in 1918, and the St. Agnes Catholic Church at the west edge of town was built in 1921. It served until 1973. Matheson now has the Community Church of Matheson and holds services each Sunday for the town members and the surrounding community.

A large brick school atop the hill south of town was constructed in 1920 and closed in 1969. The building still stands as a landmark of Matheson, along with St. Agnes Catholic Church at the west end of town.

The original Rock Island Railroad delivered mail in 1888. The incoming mail was delivered on train No. 7 and the outgoing mail was sent out on train No. 8. The mail bag was thrown from the train as it passed and was often torn, scattering mail up and down the tracks. Out going mail was hung on a pole and picked off the pole by the caboose conductor, yielding a hook as the train passed by.

The town of Matheson was erroneously spelled Mattison by the Railroad Company. In 1915 the Post Office Department corrected the name to Matheson.

The town of Matheson once boasted a population of 500+. During and towards the end of the Great Depression the population started to drop as businesses failed, and folks moved on to find a better way of life.

In Popular Culture

The television series Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show was set in Matheson, Colorado. However, the series portrayed Matheson as much larger, a hub of high-tech industry, and located somewhere in the mountains west of Denver.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "ZIP Code Lookup" (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service. January 2, 2007. http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp. Retrieved January 2, 2007.