Coles County, Illinois
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe Library of Congress U.S. Newspaper Directory lists 59 newspaper titles published in Coles County, Illinois, with the earliest starting in 1800. None of these titles are currently digitized on Chronicling America. The National Register of Historic Places includes 21 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1978. Most listings are in or near Charleston, Mattoon, Lerna.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers published in Coles
Library of Congress59 newspaper titles
Source: Library of Congress U.S. Newspaper Directory. “Digitized” links lead to page images on Chronicling America.
Coverage timeline
NewspapersEach bar is one title’s publication span. brown = digitized on Chronicling America Open-ended runs extend to today.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP17 of 21 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
21 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Airtight Bridge | Charleston | 1981 |
| Blakeman Bridge | Charleston | 1981 |
| Briggs, Alexander, House | Charleston | 1980 |
| Burgess-Osborne Memorial Auditorium | Mattoon | 2018 |
| Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Shiloh Encampment Site | Lerna | 2014 |
| Coles County Courthouse | Charleston | 1978 |
| Fifteenth Street and Oklahoma Avenue Brick Street | Mattoon | 1999 |
| Health Education Building | Charleston | 1995 |
| Illinois Central Railroad Depot | Mattoon | 2002 |
| Lumpkin Heights and Elm Ridge Subdivision Historic District | Mattoon | 2017 |
| McFarland House | Charleston | 1991 |
| Old Main | Charleston | 1981 |
| Pemberton Hall and Gymnasium | Charleston | 1982 |
| Roytek, Richard, House | Mattoon | 2011 |
| Rutherford, Dr. Hiram, House and Office | Oakland | 1982 |
| Sixth, Seventh, and Tenth Street Stone Arch Bridges | Charleston | 2001 |
| Starr Hotel | Mattoon | 1994 |
| Stone Quarry Bridge | Charleston | 1981 |
| U. S. Post Office | Mattoon | 1979 |
| Unity Church | Mattoon | 1982 |
| Will Rogers Theatre and Commercial Block | Charleston | 1984 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBColes was formed in 1830 (1830-12-25) from Clark, Edgar.
COLES created from CLARK and EDGAR.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusColes County population from 1840 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9,616 | 14,203 | 27,042 | 34,146 | 35,108 | 38,470 | 40,328 | 42,860 | 52,260 | 53,196 | 46,863 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS136 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 80 of 136 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Adkins Cemetery |
| Anderson Cemetery |
| Andrew Lanman Farm Cemetery |
| Armstrong Cemetery |
| Ashmore Cemetery |
| Baptist Burial Ground |
| Beals Cemetery |
| Beavers Cemetery |
| Bell Cemetery |
| Berry Cemetery |
| Boles Cemetery |
| Bowles Cemetery |
| Brandenburg Cemetery |
| Brann Cemetery |
| Brooks Cemetery |
| Calvary Cemetery |
| Campground Cemetery |
| Campground Cemetery |
| Cartwright Cemetery |
| Cemetery |
| Chambers Cemetery |
| Charleston Town Branch Cemetery |
| Coles County Poor Farm Cemetery |
| Collins Cemetery |
| Combs Cemetery |
| Concord Cemetery |
| Cooks Mill Cemetery |
| Cossel Cemetery |
| Country Grave |
| Craig Cemetery |
| Curry Cemetery |
| Dodge Grove Cemetery |
| Dodrich Cemetery |
| Doty Cemetery |
| Drummade Cemetery |
| Dry Grove Cemetery |
| East Humboldt Cemetery |
| Ellington Cemetery |
| Embarrass Cemetery |
| Enon Cemetery |
| Fairfield Cemetery |
| Fairview Cemetery |
| Freeman Cemetery |
| French Cemetery |
| Fudge Cemetery |
| Fuller Cemetery |
| Gardner Cemetery |
| Gearhart Cemetery |
| Gibbs Cemetery |
| Golliday Cemetery |
| Gordon Cemetery |
| Grant Cemetery |
| Green Hill Cemetery |
| Hitesville Cemetery |
| Hoagland (historical) |
| Huckaba Cemetery |
| Humboldt Cemetery |
| Humboldt Township Cemetery |
| Hurricane Cemetery |
| Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery |
| Indiana Cemetery |
| Janesville Cemetery |
| Kelley Cemetery |
| Kickapoo Cemetery |
| Knoch Cemetery |
| Laffery Cemeterty |
| Lafler Cemetery |
| Leitch Cemetery |
| Liberty Cemetery |
| Lower Muddy Cemetery |
| Lumbrick Cemetery |
| Maple Hill Cemetery |
| McKenzie Cemetery |
| Miller - Coartney Cemetery |
| Mitchell Cemetery |
| Mitchell Cemetery |
| Montgomery Cemetery |
| Monticello Cemetery |
| Mound Cemetery |
| Mount Tabor Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Coles County, Illinois
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.