A Mall Born in the Boom Years
The scent of fresh asphalt mixed with sawdust as workers hammered the final nails into storefronts.
By October 1971, Cross County Mall was almost ready. A JCPenney employee peered through the glass doors, taking in the rows of empty display shelves waiting to be filled.
Across the way, a contractor wiped his forehead and nodded at the progress—Mattoon‘s newest shopping destination was finally coming to life.
Retail development in small-town Illinois looked different in the late 1960s. At the time, shopping meant heading downtown or stopping by standalone stores along the highway.
But Chananie Development saw an opportunity. In 1967, the company announced plans for a modern, enclosed shopping mall at 700 Broadway Avenue East, just off U.S. Route 45.
The location was prime—close enough to the heart of Mattoon, yet easily accessible for shoppers from Charleston and surrounding towns.
Construction began in 1969, promising convenience, variety, and year-round climate control under one roof.
In 1971, Cross County Mall opened its doors to a retail scene built on big names and bargain hunting.
JCPenney claimed the prime spot, a department store giant that anchored malls across the country.
Arlan’s moved in next, stacking its aisles with discount appliances and cut-rate clothing.
G.C. Murphy, the old-school five-and-dime, filled in the gaps with low-priced essentials—everything from kitchenware to kids’ toys.
Walgreens set up a location to bring pharmacy services to the mall. An IGA supermarket provided grocery shoppers with an easy way to stock up while running other errands.
Kinney Shoes and Myers Brothers, a Springfield-based department store, filled out the lineup.
By 1972, Cross County Mall was expanding fast. Sears moved in, adding another heavyweight to the lineup and turning the mall into a retail anchor for the region.
Shoppers could browse for clothes, furnish their homes, and stop for a meal—without ever stepping back outside.
Shopping wasn’t just a task anymore. It was a destination.
By the early 1970s, Cross County Mall was thriving. The large parking lot filled up on Saturdays, and the hum of conversation echoed through its halls.
For those looking for things to do in Mattoon, Illinois, the mall quickly became part of the weekend routine.
The Rise and Reinvention of Retail Spaces
The doors swung open at 9 am, and shoppers strolled in, lured by the latest sales.
It was the late 1970s, and Cross County Mall was thriving. Inside, cash registers rang steadily, and the scent of new clothing mixed with the warm, sugary air drifting from the snack stands.
But retail never stands still. The stores that filled the mall’s corridors would shift, expand, and disappear—some gradually, others overnight.
Arlan’s was the first to go. The discount retailer filed for bankruptcy in 1973, leaving a gaping hole in the mall’s lineup.
A year later, Kmart took over the space, bringing its well-stocked aisles and low prices to Mattoon.
The move was a win for the mall, making it one of the first in the country to house JCPenney, Sears, and Kmart under one roof.
Meanwhile, G.C. Murphy shut its doors in 1976. By 1978, the space had a new tenant: Meis, a department store in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Change didn’t stop there. In 1978, Bergner’s bought out the Myers Brothers chain and rebranded its location inside the mall.
A few years later, the southeast wing—once home to IGA—was reimagined. Mall owners tried turning it into an enclosed food court, hoping to lure in national chains.
But by 1988, with only a sandwich shop and a restaurant inside Kmart, the idea flopped.
The space pivoted again, this time into an antique mall.
The 1990s brought another wave of transformation. In 1993, Kmart moved into a bigger building outside the mall, allowing Sears to take over its old space a year later.
The old Sears space cycled through identities—first as Wolf Furniture, then a medical training center, before becoming offices for the local newspaper.
Walgreens, a mall mainstay since day one, shut its doors in 2003, closing the book on another chapter of Cross County Mall’s history.
The Fall of the Titans
Retail giants don’t last forever. By the mid-2000s, cracks were starting to show in the mall’s foundation—not the walls, but the stores.
Some brands were losing their grip, and others were disappearing altogether.
Borders had been a go-to spot for books, coffee, and browsing, but it closed in September 2011.
Elder-Beerman, once known as Meis, had been hanging on, but in 2011, it rebranded as Carson’s.
The name changed, but the struggles remained.
Sears had been a pillar of Cross County Mall for over four decades, but by 2014, the signs were clear—fewer shoppers, shrinking sales, and a retail giant losing ground.
That December, Sears went dark, another anchor gone, another stretch of storefronts left empty.
The mall felt quieter, and there was a loss of more than just square footage. It wasn’t just a store closing—it was a sign that the way people shopped had shifted for good.
The exits kept coming. In 2016, RadioShack—once the go-to spot for gadgets and cables—went under, another casualty of changing times.
Two years later, in April 2018, Carson’s parent company, The Bon-Ton Stores, filed for bankruptcy.
By August 31, 2018, the last of Carson’s customers had walked out for good.
JCPenney held on a little longer, but not by much. In December 2020, after years of downsizing, the retailer announced it would shut down its Mattoon location.
By March 2021, one of the mall’s original anchors was gone.
Each closing left more darkened storefronts, but the mall wasn’t empty—at least not yet.
It had lost some of its biggest names, but a new chapter was about to begin.
Rural King and the Fight for Survival
By 2017, the once-bustling corridors of Cross County Mall had more empty storefronts than ever before.
The hum of shopping carts had quieted, replaced by the occasional footsteps of a lone shopper passing by darkened display windows.
But while department stores were shrinking, one retailer was growing—Rural King.
Born in Mattoon, Rural King had grown into a multi-state powerhouse, selling farm gear, workwear, and home essentials.
But in 2017, it made a move that reshaped Cross County Mall’s future—it bought the entire property.
No longer just a tenant, Rural King now controlled the mall itself.
Rural King moved in, turning the vacant Sears into a retail store and a support center.
By January 16, 2019, the doors were open, and the shelves were stocked. But this wasn’t just about filling empty space—it was a shift in the mall’s identity.
What had once been a destination for department store fashion and electronics now had a core tenant focused on rural living.
Other retailers followed. Marshalls opened in November 2019, a rare bright spot in a mall that had lost so many names.
Meanwhile, Payless ShoeSource disappeared in early 2019 when the chain shut down all of its locations.
JCPenney’s closing in 2021 left another gaping hole. But by then, the mall had a strategy: repurpose, relocate, and adapt.
Dunham’s Sports took over the old JCPenney space, filling it with racks of athletic gear and outdoor equipment.
The new lineup looked different from the mall’s early days, but it wasn’t empty.
Rural King had turned a fading shopping center into something new. Whether it would be enough—that was still up for debate.
Cross County Mall’s Latest Moves—New Tenants, Open Spaces, and a Game-Changing Sports Complex
A few years ago, a trip to Cross County Mall meant browsing clothing racks, stopping by a bookstore, and grabbing a bite to eat.
Now, shoppers weave past pallets of pet food and stacks of work boots before heading to Jo-Ann Fabrics or Marshalls.
The mix of stores has shifted, reflecting changes in retail, but the mall still stands.
With Rural King in charge, vacant spaces have been repurposed. But challenges remain. The indoor mall model that once thrived in the ’70s and ’80s doesn’t dominate like it used to.
In 2024, the management team put a clear strategy into motion: keep the space active, attract new businesses, and prepare for a wave of visitors expected from the massive Emerald Acres Sports Connection opened across the street in 2025.
The $100 million sports complex promises to bring more than half a million people to the area every year.
The million-dollar question is whether those visitors will walk through the mall’s doors.
For now, the mall is filling its calendar with events and local vendors.
Recent pop-ups featured small businesses like Designs By Grandma and Ballinger Hill Design, bringing in shoppers who might not have had a reason to stop by otherwise.
Meanwhile, a handful of spaces remain open for lease, including a 54,000 sq ft anchor location and a restaurant space with 6,500 sq ft waiting for a new tenant.
The mall’s bones are still solid. However, the question remains: Will Cross County Mall find its next wave of retail success, or will it keep relying on pop-up shops and events to keep the lights on?