BlockBefore

Matheson, Colorado

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Agate census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80830. The Survey maps it on the Matheson quadrangle. 79 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,801 feet above sea level.

Matheson within Elbert County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

1 since 2008

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Matheson in 2008, burning under an acre in total. 1 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
19 June 2008Naturalunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named

Every fire recorded in Elbert County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Matheson: 2 occurrences, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceSand and Gravel

Every working recorded in Elbert County

Storms near this place

60 of 77 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Matheson in 77 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 60 hail, 8 tornado, 5 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1997Thunderstorm WindMatheson1 hurtno account filed
June 2023Flash FloodMatheson$50,000Flash flooding washed out or damaged several county roads north of CO-86 and west of Interstate 70.
August 2019Flash FloodMatheson$15,000Flash flooding occurred over southeast Elbert County. Several county roads were either flooded or washed out during the event.
May 2015Flash FloodMatheson$15,000Heavy rainfall washed out several county roads.
August 2025HailMatheson-The report was from mPING.
August 2025HailMatheson-The report was from mPING.
August 2025HailMatheson-The report was from mPING.
August 2025HailMatheson-The report was from mPING.
August 2025HailMatheson-The report was from mPING.
August 2025HailMatheson-Off duty NWS employee reported hail up to quarter size.
May 2024HailMatheson-The report came from mping.
August 2024HailMatheson-The report came from Mping.
August 2024HailMatheson-The report came from Mping.
June 2024HailMatheson-The hail covered the ground.
May 2015Tornado (EF0)Matheson-A small tornado touched down briefly; no damage was reported.
May 2015Tornado (EF0)Matheson-A small tornado touched down briefly; no damage was reported.
June 2015Tornado (EF0)Matheson-A well defined tornado touched down in open country. No damage was observed.
June 2010Tornado (EF0)Matheson-A tornado touched down but no damage.
June 2009Tornado (EF0)Matheson-A small tornado touched down but did no damage.
May 2004Tornado (F1)Matheson-A tornado touched down and caused extensive damage to a barn.
May 2001HailMatheson-Large hail, up to 6 inches deep, covered the roadway.
June 1997Heavy RainMatheson-Heavy rain, large hail, damaging thunderstorms winds and tornadoes ravaged southern portions of Elbert and southwestern Lincoln counties through the evening hours. Several farms and ranches were devastated south of the Simla and Matheson areas as 2 to 3.5 inches of rain fell in addition to golfball size hail. Approximately 18,000 acres of wheat was destroyed, Several homes sustained roof damage and large hail broke windows. County Roads 185 and 197 in Elbert County were washed out.
June 1997Tornado (F0)Matheson-A multi-vortex tornado touched down. The path length and width of the storm was approximated.
August 2025HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2025HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2025HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2025HailMatheson-no account filed
April 2025HailMatheson-no account filed
April 2025HailMatheson-no account filed
May 2024HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2023HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2022HailMatheson-no account filed
May 2020HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2019HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2019HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2019HailMatheson-no account filed
May 2019HailMatheson-no account filed
July 2019HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2017HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2015HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2014HailMatheson-no account filed
July 2014HailMatheson-no account filed
July 2014HailMatheson-no account filed
July 2014HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2013HailMatheson-no account filed
July 2011HailMatheson-no account filed
July 2010HailMatheson-no account filed
July 2006HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2006HailMatheson-no account filed
May 2005HailMatheson-no account filed
August 2005HailMatheson-no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindMatheson-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindMatheson-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Elbert County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Simla6.1 miles14
Beck Sand Draw Crossing10.8 miles12
Cedar Point13.2 miles15
Kutch18.9 miles13
Fondis19.9 miles11
Agate20.1 miles17
Bijou21.0 miles14
Kiowa28.6 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on MathesonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6786964The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 195128. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.