Where is cairo illinois

A town named after greed itself, this once beautiful place is now a shell of its former glory. Read on to learn more about the true story behind this Illinois ghost town. Today, there are about 2, residents left, most of whom live in Cairo because they have no place else to go. This near-ghost town offers an inexpensive place to live, but there are not many businesses left for people to utilize.

Please share your experiences and photos with us below in the comments. For more like this, check out these 11 abandoned places in Illinois before they wither away. Posted in Illinois May 21, by Elizabeth Crozier. During these uncertain times, please keep safety in mind and consider adding destinations to your bucket list to visit at a later date. Also known as "Egypt," southern Illinois' abandoned town of Cairo sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and is on a peninsula with water on three of its four sides.

Europeans first came across it in the late s, but it was not settled until when French pioneers pushed Native Americans off of their land and built a fort and tannery. The Cherokee eventually revolted by killing most of the 30 or so men and taking the furs they were collecting to sell. Several attempts to survey the land were made throughout the s. A hotel was built as well as a shipyard, warehouses, sawmills, an ironworks, and several residential cottages. Eventually, a railroad was completed in that connected Cairo all the way to Galena.

There was a time when people believed this town should be the capital of the United States as it was such a hub for steamboats and other activities. In the late s, tunnels believed to have been used during the Underground Railroad were discovered beneath the streets near the tracks in Cairo. They run for about five or six blocks and were likely used to hide people.

Camp Defiance was a prominent facility located in Cairo. General Ulysses S. My grandparents still lived there, but of course, 30 years changed the city. So sad to see it like it is today. I agree wholeheartedly with you Turcila; the intolerance of both sides caused this city to crumble. I, too, have a great grandfather that lived in Cairo and I wish I could see where he lived and what he experienced.

And Bill, please do some research before you make ignorant comments. Chicago is one of the most if not the most segregated city in the US still to this day. Whites are on the Northside, blacks are on the Southside also the West side. Whites strategically placed blacks on the Southside to live in the ghettos and projects that they built.

Without access to a solid education, the black community is unable to obtain a decent paying job. Without a decent paying job, they are not able to provide for themselves or their families. Thus, they result to finding other means to making money which includes illegal activities. The thirst for survival and the struggle to meet daily needs results in violence. It is a perpetuating cycle where the black community is at a constant disadvantage and lacking opportunities that whites on the Northside have an endless supply of.

Unless you, sir, would like to come over here and sit down with Mayor Emanuel to come up with a way to break the cycle and give the black community a way to better themselves and their surroundings, your opinion about my great city of Chicago is empty and useless.

We need less people like you in this world. Bill and Jo, There is no such thing as white and black people. Just people. The ones living in a town that size who believed that they could stand on some else and hold them down, were delusional.

Cairo is proof of this. It is a good thing that many people in America have learned to get past this now.

This is America and this is where we live together. We simply cannot get rid of other people who we have decided are different than we are. If anyone believes they should spend their energy trying to diminish the quality of life of another person, this is what they will get. Using so-called race as an excuse to hurt another person or torment them, is primitive.

FYI — my mother was born there and I have several relatives there now. I have been there many times. My mother was born in , to put that in context. I think the whites destroyed Cairo by not allowing civil rights as a law. The whites got what they deserved. They ruined their own town. Blaming one race or the other is not the lesson we should ultimately take away from this sad story.

White or black, both bear a share of the blame: The whites lynched the blacks and the blacks burned down several businesses that were quite frankly just caught in the crossfire of angry men.

It was racial tension and complete intolerance between the two that destroyed poor Cairo. Think about what your saying though, its people like you that caused the incline of racial tensions in Cairo that eventually lead to blacks wanting to be heard an treated differently. Everytime something like this happens with black people our whole race is critized, its bad in all races. They were just strong people without a dominant leader that could speak for the black people.

I recall traveling to Cairo as a child with my momma and grandma around Christmas. We would tour the Magnolia Manor, which is breathtakingly beautiful and open for your even today.

The huge old buildings downtown are a silent memoir of a city full of robust stories of struggle and strife, what was, what could have been, and what it could be. I have never felt afraid to drive through the city, except maybe that I might meet up with a sink hole…. And, the people I have encountered have greeted me with a Southern sweetness and respect. I was born and raised in Cairo. It was a Beautiful place at one time. I remember the hotdog vendor downtown the aroma, and the stores.

So many places to go to. There use to be a Drive-In there. I feel all i have left of Cairo is the memories i have of my Childhood and my friends. Why should we suffer the consequences of others because we were born into this type of situation. It makes me want to cry for what has happened to Cairo. Even if they rebuild Cairo, it will never be the same for me! Cooper was born and raised in St.

Louis but has lived in California since An old childhood friend who lives in Jackson, MO told Cooper about the city of Cairo and Cooper swiftly wrote a song about it. Cooper is a veteran of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene.

He has performed with members of the Grateful Dead, Doobie Brothers and many others. This town was destroyed by blacks….. Louis, Pine Bluff, Detroit…. Three weeks ago we drove through Cairo — just intended a scenic side trip on our vacation. We thought maybe the town had flooded or a tornado hit or perhaps a fire?

On the main street, vacant, dilapidated commercial buildings, in many cases only the foundations remained. We only saw one person outside, a young man walking down the street. Very few cars. Perhaps two businesses appeared open but no visible customers. We saw some homes off of the main road that looked occupied from a distance but it was all so strange we were afraid to explore more.

The area is so pretty with the river winding nearby, and some beautiful old architecture….. We were shocked to find out that the residents, out of hatred, racial tension, ignorance, and frustration, destroyed their own city. Where is the logic in that? Where is the pride? Cairo looks like it has been beautiful in the past and could perhaps be an amazing redevelopment project for a developer with vision and a lot of money. I was talking about Shemwells not too long ago wondering if it was still there loved the Pork sandwiches.

It was my hometown for twenty years. Frankie Hu. Run down buildings, collapsing landmarks such as the GEM theater. What caught our eye was the Southern Medical Center.

Course we wanted to take a look around. Pretty spooky inside, this is the next location we will shoot an episode at. Once we gain permission from the city. Walking around in there gives you a sadness feeling, and sometimes a heavy feeling, Researching how many deaths occurred inside.

Anyone with this type of information would be greatly appreciated. I drove to Cairo the other day not knowing the history of the towN and I actually had hopes for a sale for my Mary Kay business.

When I got in the town I wanted to kick my car into sport mode and jam the gas pedal. I was scared and frightened. I got to the house I needed to go to and when I got there the 2 women had 7 kids they were taking care of and they all were living in a condemned trailer and they were all Filthy. After I got back on 57 i was so happy I was laughing and about to cry.

Never wanT to go there again. I lived in Cairo from to The age 6 to I have such found memories. I can still smell the Magnolia trees as I rode my bike. There was a women who was known for her pastries. I love what see called a Goory Butter Cake. I am now 63 and retired. I would love to see the citizens of Cairo to find a way to turn it around. I have a lot of family from Cairo. While I am sad that Cairo has gradually declined, i am intrigued by the amount of history there…good and bad.

I doubt there is anything that can be done to bring the city back up. Very gripping and powerful and like I said, very sad. Passed through the city a few years ago. Kinda spooky looking, but we met some very nice people.

Wife and I were traveling in august, both of us sick with food poisoning, but trying to make it home with still miles to go. We had a flat tire right on main street. Both of us too weak and sick to even think of changing it. Very nice people, black and white, changed our tire. Got us some water and offered food, but we couldnt eat.

We were very blessed by strangers there … who went out of their way to help a couple travelers. This is really sad. To think my father was born and raised there. He lived there in the heart of the worst. He was born in The first attempt at settlement occurred in when John G. Comegys of Baltimore, Maryland obtained a charter to incorporate the city and the Bank of Cairo from the Territorial Legislature. Working along with Comegys, was Shadrach Bond, who was the first governor of Illinois.

The land of the peninsula was to be made into lots and sold, a portion of the money put into improvements, and the rest of it was to constitute the capital for the new bank. The peninsula was surveyed and the city was platted. However, when Comegys died in , his plan died with him. Holbrook, a shrewd businessman from Boston, Massachusetts as president. Holbrook soon hired several hundred workmen who constructed levees, a dry dock, a shipyard, sawmills, an ironworks, a large two-story frame hotel, a warehouse, and several residential cottages.

A store was kept in a boat. In the meantime, a number of farms were established and area villages in the county were flourishing. However, when the London firm failed in November , the fledgling town of Cairo immediately declined, dropping in population from 1, to less than within two years.

Those who remained operated shops and taverns for steamboat travelers. The census of showed people in 24 families. Alexander County Courthouse built in Cairo, Illinois in When the Illinois Central Railroad was completed in , which connected Cairo to Galena, Illinois in the northwest corner of the state, the town really began to grow. At that time, expectations were still running high when Cairo was predicted to surpass St.

Some even recommended that the city should become the capitol of the United States. Of course, despite these boasts, the city did not prosper to such an extent. In the town was incorporated and two years later, its population exceeded 2, It quickly became an important steamboat port, as goods and supplies were moved further south to New Orleans.

In , the city shipped six million pounds of cotton and wool, 7, barrels of molasses, and 15, casks of sugar. In , Cairo became the county seat of Alexander County. An elegant courthouse was built in that continued to stand until the s when it was torn down and replaced with a new one.

The old Illinois Central Railroad storage bins near the Ohio River were used as hiding places for slaves traveling the Underground Railroad through Cairo. Prior to the Civil War , the city also became an important transfer station on the Underground Railroad.

After the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, fugitives were shipped north on the river before being transferred to railroad lines headed toward Chicago. More than a century and a half later, In June , Cairo city workers discovered what appeared to be storage bins under the sidewalk along the block of Levee Street.

The Illinois Central Railroad originally ran down the street and the structures date back to the late s. Physical evidence suggests that the rooms and an adjoining tunnel ran for five or six blocks along the street and were utilized to hide and move fugitive slaves.

In , the grandest hotel in the city was built at the southwest corner of 2nd and Ohio Streets. The St. Charles Hotel opened in January Grant and General John A. McLernand, and filled to full capacity. Later, in , the business was purchased by the Halliday Brothers, who vastly improved it and renamed it the Halliday Hotel. For decades it would be known as the best hotel in the city. Unfortunately, it burned to the ground in The port quickly became a strategically important supply base and training center for the Union army.

For several months, both General Ulysses S. Grant and Admiral Andrew Foote had headquarters in the town. Several federal regiments were also stationed there during these turbulent years. The Confederacy also realized its strategic importance.

Knowing this, Illinois Governor Richard Yates immediately shipped 2, men with 15 pieces of field artillery, plus several six-pounders, and one twelve-pound cannon to Cairo from Springfield. More troops were stationed nearby and by June , 12, Union soldiers were in and around Cairo. Another 38, men were stationed within a hour ride. In order to further strengthen Cairo as a military camp and as a naval base, Yates sent yet more artillery to the city in the fall of , which included 7, new guns, 6, rifled muskets, and rifles, and 14 artillery batteries of artillery.

The soldiers then built 15 foot high levees around the city, making it a formidable installation. At the very tip of the peninsula, south of Cairo, Camp Defiance was established near the river bank, and Camp Smith was located just a short distance to the north. Initially, the post consisted of a flat-topped mound upon which were placed three pound cannons and an 8-inch mortar.

Grant arrived. Lines of sentries were posted along the levees, and all boats along the river were stopped and searched. The city itself became an enormous military camp with a huge parade ground and clusters of barracks on all sides. Generals Ulysses S. Grant and John A.