Cairo | Illinois, Map, Population, & History

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<span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cairo-Illinois/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Cairo-Illinois">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cairo-Illinois/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/3080-050-AF84CCBD/Confluence-rivers-Mississippi-Ohio-Illinois-Cairo.jpg" data-href="/media/1/88546/2638" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/80/3080-004-CCCE5015/Confluence-rivers-Mississippi-Ohio-Illinois-Cairo.jpg" alt="confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/245475-050-075F5CC7/Locator-map-Cairo.jpg" data-href="/media/1/88546/289508" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/245475-004-BA849BB4/Locator-map-Cairo.jpg" alt="Cairo, Illinois" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/78202-050-9A55CD6B/Magnolia-Manor-Charles-Galigher-Victorian-Cairo-merchant-1872.jpg" data-href="/media/1/88546/72238" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/78202-004-ADC09589/Magnolia-Manor-Charles-Galigher-Victorian-Cairo-merchant-1872.jpg" alt="Cairo, Illinois" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cairo-Illinois/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref278840"></span>Cairo</strong>, city, seat (1860) of Alexander county, extreme southern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Illinois-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Illinois</a>, U.S. The city stands on a low-lying delta at the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="confluence" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confluence" data-type="MW">confluence</a> of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mississippi-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mississippi</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ohio-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ohio</a> rivers. Bridges over both rivers connect the city with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kentucky" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Kentucky</a> (east) and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Missouri-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Missouri</a> (west). Cairo was so named because its site was thought to resemble that of the Egyptian city (<em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cairo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cairo</a>), and southern Illinois consequently became known as Little Egypt.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="289508" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/245475-050-075F5CC7/Locator-map-Cairo.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/88546/289508"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/245475-050-075F5CC7/Locator-map-Cairo.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/245475-050-075F5CC7/Locator-map-Cairo.jpg?w=300" alt="Cairo, Illinois" data-width="2000" data-height="2000" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/245475-050-075F5CC7/Locator-map-Cairo.jpg" data-href="/media/1/88546/289508">Cairo, Illinois</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Cairo and the Bank of Cairo were chartered in 1818, when there was no settlement and there were no depositors. A second and successful attempt at establishing a town was made in 1836–37 by the Cairo City and Canal Company, which built a large <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/levee" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">levee</a> that encircled the city; however, the settlement collapsed in 1840. Cairo was visited in 1842 by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Dickens-British-novelist" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Charles Dickens</a>, who was not impressed and made it the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="prototype" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prototype" data-type="MW">prototype</a> for the nightmare City of Eden in his novel <em><span id="ref278841"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Martin-Chuzzlewit-novel-by-Dickens" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Martin Chuzzlewit</a></em> (1843–44). In 1846, 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of the site were purchased by the trustees of the Cairo City Property Trust, a group of Eastern investors who were interested in making the town the terminus of the projected Illinois Central Railroad; the railroad arrived in 1855. A city charter was obtained in 1857, and Cairo flourished as trade with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chicago</a> spurred development. Cairo was headquarters for General <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ulysses-S-Grant" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ulysses S. Grant</a> during the western campaigns of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">American Civil War</a>. Grant’s presence forced much of the city’s trade to be diverted to Chicago. Cairo failed to regain much of the trade lost during the war, and agriculture and lumber and sawmills subsequently came to dominate the economy. The city was protected by its levees from destruction when the Ohio River rose to record heights during the 1937 flood. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Cairo was the scene of racial <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="strife" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/strife" data-type="EB">strife</a>, and it fell into a serious decline thereafter.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="72238" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/78202-050-9A55CD6B/Magnolia-Manor-Charles-Galigher-Victorian-Cairo-merchant-1872.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/88546/72238"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/78202-050-9A55CD6B/Magnolia-Manor-Charles-Galigher-Victorian-Cairo-merchant-1872.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/78202-050-9A55CD6B/Magnolia-Manor-Charles-Galigher-Victorian-Cairo-merchant-1872.jpg?w=300" alt="Cairo, Illinois" data-width="1200" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/78202-050-9A55CD6B/Magnolia-Manor-Charles-Galigher-Victorian-Cairo-merchant-1872.jpg" data-href="/media/1/88546/72238">Cairo, Illinois</a><span>Magnolia Manor, a 14-room Victorian mansion in Cairo, Illinois, completed in 1872 for Charles Galigher, a Cairo milling merchant, and his family.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Local industries include the production of pulp and paper and the manufacture of polyurethane foam and pet products. Notable attractions include the Custom House (1872), which is now a local museum, and the mansions along “Millionaire’s Row,” including <span id="ref875528"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Magnolia-Manor" class="md-crosslink ">Magnolia Manor</a> (1869), a five-story Italianate building. Fort Defiance State Park, site of the Civil War garrison, is just south; Mound City National Cemetery, just north of Cairo, contains thousands of Civil War graves. Horseshoe Lake Conservation Area and Shawnee National Forest are northwest of the city. Inc. 1818; reinc. 1857. Pop. (2000) 3,632; (2010) 2,831.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature font-12"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":88546,"pageLength":403,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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