Cairo, Illinois
The Ohio River meets the Mississippi River at a narrow spit of land that became Cairo, Illinois. This geographic meeting point sits lower than any other location in the state. Early settlers arrived in the 1830s to build a town on this wetland. The first municipal charter for Cairo appeared in 1818 but lacked actual residents or deposits. A second attempt by the Cairo City and Canal Company succeeded briefly between 1836 and 1837. They constructed a large levee to encircle the site before the effort collapsed in 1840. Charles Dickens visited the area in 1842 and found it unimpressive. He later used the city as a model for the nightmare town of Eden in his novel Martin Chuzzlewit.
Union General Ulysses S. Grant occupied Cairo in January 1862 to control river access. Admiral Andrew Hull Foote established the naval station for the Mississippi River Squadron there on the 6th of September 1861. Fort Defiance rose from the ground to protect the confluence during the conflict. Since no land existed for base facilities, navy yard repair machinery floated aboard wharf-boats and old steamers. The city served as a critical supply center for Union campaigns moving south. Trade shifted away from the port after the war ended because railroads converged on Chicago instead. Agriculture and lumber mills replaced the earlier shipping dominance in the local economy.
Construction began on the United States Custom House and Post Office in 1869 under architect Alfred B. Mullet. This building finished its work in 1872 and housed courts until 1905. By 1900, several railroad lines branched out from the city to connect with regional markets. Nearly 250,000 railroad cars could cross the river via ferry within six months before bridges arrived. Wealthy merchants built fine mansions like Magnolia Manor which completed in 1872. Captain William P. Halliday constructed the Riverlore Mansion in 1865. The A. B. Safford Memorial Library opened on the 19th of July 1884 with stained glass windows and ornate woodwork. Anna E. Safford paid for the library construction and donated it to the city.
An estimated crowd of 10,000 gathered for the lynching of William James on the 11th of November 1909. Two men were lynched that night including white resident Henry Salzner who had allegedly murdered his wife. Journalist Ida B. Wells investigated the events after civil rights activists hired her. Governor Deneen enforced the 1905 anti-lynching law by dismissing Sheriff Davis for failing to protect the victims. Robert Hunt died in a Cairo police station on the 16th of July 1967 under suspicious circumstances. His death sparked aggressive protests from the black community on the 17th of July 1967. Three stores burned to the ground during the rioting while National Guardsmen activated to restore order. The White Hats formed as a citizens protection group with 600 members wearing white construction hats.
The Illinois Central Railroad bridge completed over the Ohio River in 1889 began the decline of ferry business. A second bridge across the Mississippi River opened at Thebes in 1905 reducing rail traffic through Cairo. The Cairo Mississippi River Bridge finished linking Missouri and Illinois in 1929. Completion of these two bridges ended the ferry industry entirely and put many people out of work. Motorists crossed the southern tip of Illinois between states without entering the city. The Cairo I-57 Bridge opened in 1978 bypassed the town to the north. This interstate largely crippled the remaining hospitality industry in the city. Cairo's hospital closed in December 1986 due to high debt and dwindling patients.
A large flood gate known as the Big Subway Gate rose in 1914 by Stupp Brothers of St. Louis. The gate weighs 80 tons and stands 60 feet wide, 24 feet high, and five feet thick. It was designed to seal the northern levee by closing over U.S. Highway 51. Following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, engineers reinforced the system around the city. The Corps of Engineers established the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway during that project. The Ohio River flood of 1937 crested at 59.5 feet bringing record water levels to Cairo. To protect the town, officials closed the flood gate and blew a breach in the Bird's Point levee for the first time. The concrete flood wall now protects the town from waters up to 64 feet.
The population peaked at 15,203 residents in 1920 before dropping to 1,733 in the 2020 census. This represents an 89% loss of population from its peak a century earlier. The city decreased in population for eight consecutive US census reports from 1950 to 2020. As of 2024, the city had 1,506 residents living within its boundaries. In 2023, the first grocery store since 2015 opened in the city. Cairo's Head Start preschool program shut down in 2024. The median income for a household reached $27,661 while about 36.2% of the population lived below the poverty line. Ten families found new housing when federal plans announced closure of Elmwood and McBride complexes in August 2017.
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Common questions
When was Cairo Illinois founded and who were the first settlers?
Early settlers arrived in the 1830s to build a town on this wetland. The first municipal charter for Cairo appeared in 1818 but lacked actual residents or deposits.
What role did Ulysses S Grant play in Cairo during the Civil War?
Union General Ulysses S Grant occupied Cairo in January 1862 to control river access. Admiral Andrew Hull Foote established the naval station for the Mississippi River Squadron there on the 6th of September 1861.
Why did the population of Cairo Illinois decline so drastically after 1920?
Completion of these two bridges ended the ferry industry entirely and put many people out of work. The Cairo I-57 Bridge opened in 1978 bypassed the town to the north and largely crippled the remaining hospitality industry in the city.
How large is the Big Subway Gate flood protection system in Cairo?
The gate weighs 80 tons and stands 60 feet wide, 24 feet high, and five feet thick. It was designed to seal the northern levee by closing over U.S. Highway 51.
When did the lynching of William James occur in Cairo Illinois?
An estimated crowd of 10,000 gathered for the lynching of William James on the 11th of November 1909. Two men were lynched that night including white resident Henry Salzner who had allegedly murdered his wife.