Cairo, Illinois Cairo, Illinois City of Cairo Name origin: Cairo, Egypt Location of Cairo inside Illinois Location of Cairo inside Illinois Wikimedia Commons: Cairo, Illinois Cairo (generally pronounced / k ro / care-o by natives, and / ke ro / kay-ro by others) is the southernmost town/city in the U.S.
Cairo is positioned at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
Cairo has the lowest altitude of any locale in Illinois and is the only Illinois town/city surrounded by levees.
Several blocks in the town comprise the Cairo Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The entire town/city was evacuated amid the 2011 Mississippi River Floods, after the Ohio River rose higher than the 1937 flood levels, with the possibility of 15 feet of water inundating Cairo.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers breached levees in the Mississippi flood zone below Cairo in Missouri to prevent flooding in more crowded areas further upstream along both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
The first municipal charter for Cairo and for the Bank of Cairo were issued in 1818, but without any settlement and without any depositors. A second and prosperous accomplishment to establish a town was made by the Cairo City and Canal Company in 1836-37, with a large levee assembled to encircle the site. However, this accomplishment collapsed in 1840, with several pioneer remaining. Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842, and was unimpressed. The town/city would serve as his prototype for the eveningmare City of Eden in his novel Martin Chuzzlewit. In 1846, 10,000 acres in Cairo were purchased by the trustees of the Cairo City Property Trust, a group of investors who prepared to make it the end of the projected Illinois Central Railroad, which finally appeared there in 1855.
A new town/city charter was written in 1857, and Cairo flourished as trade with Chicago spurred development.
Cairo would turn into an meaningful supply base and training center for the rest of the war.
Grant's military occupation caused much of the city's trade to be diverted to Chicago, and Cairo floundered to regain it after the war.
Cairo panoramic map, 1885.
The strategic importance of Cairo's geographic locale amid the Civil War did spark prosperity.
Even before that, Cairo had been becoming an meaningful steamboat port, and the town/city had been designated as a port of bringy by Act of Congress in 1854.
The postal service in the building was the third busiest in the United States at the height of Cairo's prosperity.
The ferry trade created various jobs in Cairo to handle large amounts of cargo and various passengers through the city. Across the street from the customs home, the Cairo Public Library was constructed in 1883 of Queen Anne-style architecture, rather than with stained glass windows and ornate woodwork.
For protection from cyclic flooding, Cairo is completely enclosed by a series of levees and flood walls, due to its low altitude between the rivers.
The flood gate is known as the "Big Subway Gate", and it was designed to seal the northern levee in Cairo by method over U.S.
With the addition of the gate, Cairo could turn into an island, completely sealed off from approaching flood waters.
Following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the levee fitness around Cairo was strengthened.
The Ohio River flood of 1937 brought a record water level to Cairo that crested at 59.5 feet.
To protect Cairo, Corps of Engineers closed the flood gate and blew a breach in the Bird's Point levee for the first time to relieve pressure on the Cairo flood wall.
Post Office and Court House in Cairo.
District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois moved into the new court home in 1942, from the old U.S.
The building remains in use by the federal courts and as the active postal service for Cairo.
Cairo's history of race relations is often traced back to the lynching of black resident William James.
In 1900, Cairo had a populace of nearly 13,000.
In 1900, this was an unusually high black populace for a town of Cairo's size, and five percent of all black inhabitants of the state of Illinois resided here.
As word of the crime and evidence spread, the people of Cairo demanded an immediate trial for James, but the case was delayed by the court.
With ethnic tension already at breaking point in Cairo, the townspeople interval quickly infuriated by the delay in a speedy trial.
On November 10, Will James was turned over to Sheriff Frank Davis, who quickly took James out of the town/city on an Illinois Central train to avoid any potential mob violence.
An angry mob had formed in Cairo and seized another train and raced to catch up with James north of town.
The mob returned James to Cairo and led him to the intersection of Commercial Avenue and Eighth Street.
The Governor of Illinois dispatched 11 companies of militia to Cairo.
The slow economic diminish in Cairo can be traced back to the early 20th century.
The economic impact was not severe, as the barns traffic still was directed through Cairo, and automobile traffic would also increase in the early 20th century.
As the steamboat trade was replaced with barges, there was no longer a momentous reason for river traffic to stop in Cairo.
In 1929, the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge was completed, linking Missouri with Illinois to the south of Cairo.
In 1937 the Cairo Ohio River Bridge was completed.
With the two bridges completed, there was no longer a need for any kind of ferry trade at Cairo.
Additionally, both bridges cross the rivers to the south of town, which allowed motorists to cross the southern tip of Illinois between Missouri and Kentucky by completely bypassing the town/city of Cairo. While the town/city was protected by its levees from destruction when the Ohio River rose to record heights amid the 1937 flood, the city's diminish continued.
With river traffic and rail traffic drastically reduced, much of Cairo's employment prospects were gone with them.
Between the 1930s and 1960s, the populace in Cairo remained fairly steady; however, many of the employment opportunities were no longer available as the shipping, barns , and ferry industries left the city.
Population diminish was already beginning; however, it was not the rapid diminish that Cairo would later experience.
On July 16, 1967, Robert Hunt, a 19-year-old black soldier home on leave, was found hanged in the Cairo police station.
Police reported that Hunt had hanged himself with his T-shirt, but many members of the black improve of Cairo accused the police of murder. The death of Robert Hunt sparked aggressive protests in Cairo's black community, and on July 17, 1967, a large portion of the black populace in Cairo began rioting.
The black rioting that erupted in 1967 was not confined to Cairo; it was part of a larger pattern of more than 40 racially persuaded riots that occurred athwart primary cities in the United States in the summer of 1967.
During the evening of rioting on July 17, three stores and a warehouse in Cairo were burned to the ground, and windows were broken out of various other buildings.
The nationwide guard unit at Cairo was activated to respond to the violence. On July 20, 1967, one of the leaders of the violence in Cairo warned white town/city officials, "Cairo will look like Rome burning down" if town/city leaders did not meet the demands of the black groups in Cairo by Sunday, July 23, 1967.
Cairo Mayor Lee Stenzel and other town/city leaders met with federal and state delegates to ensure that a plan was advanced to satisfy the demands by the deadline in an accomplishment to head off any additional rioting. In response to the rioting of July 1967, the white improve in Cairo formed a people protection group that was deputized by the sheriff.
In early 1969, a several activists of the civil rights struggle formed the Cairo United Front civil rights organization by bringing together the small-town NAACP, a cooperative association, and a couple of black street gangs.
The Cairo United Front was formed to organize the accomplishments of the black populace in Cairo to counter the White Hats.
The United Front began its work by formally accusing the White Hats of intimidating the black community, and presented a list of seven demands to the City of Cairo.
Racial violence in Cairo reached a peak amid summer 1969 as the Cairo United Front began dominant protests and demonstrations to end segregation and draw consideration to its seven demands.
In summer 1969, the Cairo United Front also began a decade-long boycott of white-owned businesses, which encompassed virtually all the businesses in the town.
Thirteen citizens were eventually arrested amid the conflict. The Cairo Chief of Police resigned the next month stating that Cairo lacked both the legal and physical means to deal with the "guerrilla warfare tactics" that had left the town in a state of turmoil for over two years. The picketing continued throughout 1970, and in December, a new town/city ordinance was enacted that banned picketing inside 20 feet of a business.
In 1978, Cairo received yet another blow to its economy when the Interstate 57 bridge athwart the Mississippi River was opened.
With the interstate now bypassing the city, the remaining hospitality trade in Cairo was crippled.
Cairo's hospital also closed in December 1986, due to high debt and dwindling patients.
The Cairo Levee underpass The mostly abandoned Historic Downtown Cairo.
With the diminish in river trade, as has been the case in many other metros/cities on the Mississippi, Cairo has experienced a marked diminish in its economy and population.
The improve and region are working to stop abandonment of the city, restore its architectural landmarks, and precarious tradition tourism focusing on its history and relationship to the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, to bring new opportunities to the community.
Local media include WKRO radio, 1490 AM and the Cairo Citizen weekly newspaper.
Cairo at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers Cairo is positioned at the confluence of the Mississippi with the Ohio River, near Mounds, Illinois.
The lowest point in the state of Illinois is positioned on the Mississippi River in Cairo.
According to the 2010 census, Cairo has a total region of 9.086 square miles (23.53 km2), of which 6.97 square miles (18.05 km2) (or 76.71%) is territory and 2.116 square miles (5.48 km2) (or 23.29%) is water. The town/city of Cairo has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) and has many characteristics of a town/city in the Upland South.
Although extended periods of cold can occur, Cairo's winter is typically mild by Illinois standards, as the January daily average is 34.0 F (1.1 C).
On average, Cairo's low altitude and adjacency to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers prevent strong winter lows and plunging temperatures; however, amid the summer months those similar features retain heat and humidity, creating muggy conditions.
Climate data for Cairo, Illinois The town/city is served by Cairo Unified School District 1.
Based on census estimates, the Cairo school precinct has the highest percentage in Illinois of kids in poverty, 60.6%, which rates fifteenth highest in the United States. Middle and high school students attend Cairo Junior/Senior High School.
Amtrak service to Cairo ended on October 25, 1987 when the City of New Orleans began bypassing the city.
Cairo's locale on a spit of territory that lies between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers made overlapping US 60 and 62 briefly through Illinois more practical than directly connecting Missouri and Kentucky.
Magnolia Manor is a postbellum manor, assembled by the Cairo businessman Charles A.
It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 17, 1969. The home is directed as a Victorian reconstructionhistoric home exhibition by the Cairo Historical Association.
1997 aerial view of Cairo, with Ohio River in foreground, Mississippi River in background Cairo Custom House & Post Office Film-makers Jacob Cartwright and Nick Jordan's feature-length documentary "Between Two Rivers" (2012) is about the social, economic and surroundingal enigma faced by Cairo.
Cairo was the initial destination for Huck and Jim in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as they prepared to paddle up the Ohio River to obtain freedom for Jim.
They sailed past Cairo by mistake and ended up in the slave state of Arkansas instead.
Twain also noted Cairo in his non-fiction Life on the Mississippi. Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842 and was unimpressed with what he saw as a disease-ridden backwater.
Cairo is one of the settings inside the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods, the home of Mr Ibis and Mr Jacquel (the undivided day pseudonyms of the old gods Anubis and Thoth).
The musician Stace England produced a concept music CD called Greetings From Cairo, Illinois (2005), inspired by the city's history. Cairo had its own minor-league baseball team (variously known as the Egyptians, Champions and Giants) in the Kentucky Illinois Tennessee League from 1903 06, 1911 14 and 1922 24.
The Saint Louis Cardinals of baseball's National League held their spring training camp in Cairo from 1943 1945.
Main article: List of citizens from Cairo, Illinois "Cairo inhabitants allowed back in as mayor lifts evacuation order".
"US Customs House and Post Office, Cairo, IL", Northern Illinois University Library a b "Cairo, Illinois".
A history of the town/city of Cairo, Illinois.
"Cairo Flood Wall Holds as Ohio River Rises".
Post Office and Courthouse Cairo, Illinois".
A History of the City of Cairo, Illinois.
"One Lynching in Cairo, Ill.; Then, Another".
"Soldiers Awe Mob; Negro Taken Away; Cairo People, Who Lynched Two, Jeer When Intended Victim Is Escorted to Train.
"Cairo Seeks to Head Off More Riots".
"More Picketing Called Following Cairo, Ill Riot".
Sanborn, "Cairo, IL", University of Michigan "Station Name: IL CAIRO 3 - N".
"Climate Statistics for Cairo, Illinois".
"Gem Theatre in Cairo, IL".
"Riverlore, Cairo IL, Pilot Light 2000 Historic Page".
"Cairo Public Library, Cairo IL, Pilot Light 2000 Historic Page".
"Martin Chuzzlewit as discussed in Cairo, Illinois, United States".
"Singer Evokes Turbulent History of Cairo, Ill.".
Cairo, pronounced "Care-O", didn't became a creative inspiration for him until he started writing music and playing the guitar in the late 1980s.
"City of Cairo and Canal Company".
Cairo City Property (Cairo, Ill.) (1858), The past, present and future of the town/city of Cairo, in North America, Portland : Printed by B.
A history of the town/city of Cairo, Illinois.
Cairo, Ill.: Cairo Public Library.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cairo, Illinois.
Between Two Rivers, a Cairo, Illinois feature-length documentary Cairo, Illinois at Abandoned Cairo, Illinois at City Data History of Cairo, Illinois
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