Cairo, Illinois

File:Embarkation of General McClernand's Brigade at Cairo.jpg troops from Cairo on January 10, 1862]]

Cairo was named after the Egyptian city of the same name because its location at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers was reminiscent of the Nile Delta.{{cite news |last1=Knowles |first1=Daniel |title=America is uniquely ill-suited to handle a falling population |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2024/04/18/america-is-uniquely-ill-suited-to-handle-a-falling-population |access-date=19 April 2024 |newspaper=The Economist |date=April 18, 2024}}

The first municipal charter for Cairo and the Bank of Cairo were issued in 1818, but without any settlement and without any depositors.{{Cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/88546/Cairo |title = Cairo | Illinois, United States| date=October 25, 2023 }} A second and successful effort to establish a town was made by the Cairo City and Canal Company in 1836–37, with a large levee built to encircle the site. However, this effort collapsed in 1840, with few settlers remaining.

Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842, and was unimpressed. The city would serve as his prototype for the nightmare 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 including writer John Neal{{Cite book |publisher=Printed by B. Thurston |location=Portland [Me.] |title=The past, present and future of the city of Cairo, in North America |author=Cairo City Property (Cairo, Ill.) |date=1858 |page=99 |oclc=13619400|ol=271527M |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJYUAAAAYAAJ}} who planned to make it the terminus of the projected Illinois Central Railroad, which finally arrived there in 1855.

Cairo had been growing as an important river port for steamboats, which traveled all the way south to New Orleans. The city had been designated as a port of delivery by Act of Congress in 1854.

A new city charter was written in 1857,{{Cite web |title=Papers Of Abraham Lincoln |url=https://papersofabrahamlincoln.org/places/x4014254 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=papersofabrahamlincoln.org}} and Cairo flourished as trade with Chicago to the north spurred development. By 1860, the population exceeded 2,000.

{{CSS image crop|Image=The Photographic History of The Civil War Volume 01 Page 188.jpg|bSize=220|cWidth=190|cHeight=205|oTop=20|oLeft=7|Location=left|Description=General Grant's headquarters.}}

During the Civil War, Admiral Andrew Hull Foote made Cairo the naval station for the Mississippi River Squadron on September 6, 1861. Since Cairo had no land available for base facilities, the navy yard repair shop machinery was afloat aboard wharf-boats, old steamers, tugs, flat-boats, and rafts.{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Francis Trevelyan |title =The Photographic History of The Civil War |publisher =Castle Books |volume =Six: The Navies |date =1957 |location =New York |pages =213–215 }} In January 1862, General Ulysses S. Grant occupied the city, and had Fort Defiance constructed to protect the confluence. Cairo became an important Union supply base and training center for the remainder of the war.

Military occupation caused much of the city's trade to be diverted by railroad to Chicago. Cairo failed to regain this important trade after the war, as more railroads converged on Chicago and it developed at a rapid pace, attracting stockyards, meat processing, and heavy industries. Instead, agriculture, lumber, and sawmills now dominated the Cairo economy.

File:CairoIllPerspectiveMap1885.jpg

The strategic importance of Cairo's geographic location during the Civil War sparked prosperity in the town. Several banks were founded during the war years, and the growth in banking and steamboat traffic continued after the war.

In 1869, construction began on the United States Custom House and Post Office, which was designed by Alfred B. Mullet, the Supervising Architect. The custom house was completed in 1872. It served as a custom house, post office, and United States Court. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois met at the building until 1905.

From 1905 to 1942, the Custom House was used for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. The building also housed the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Illinois from 1905 to 1912. At the height of Cairo's prosperity, the post office in the building was the third busiest in the United States. It is one of only seven of Mullet's Victorian structures remaining in the nation, and the building has been converted for use as a museum. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[http://www.lib.niu.edu/1999/ihy990A446.html "US Customs House and Post Office, Cairo, IL"]{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Northern Illinois University Library

After the Civil War, the city became a hub for railroad shipping in the region, which added to its economy. By 1900 several railroad lines branched from Cairo. In addition to shipping and railroads, a major industry in Cairo was the operation of ferries. Into the late 19th century, nearly 250,000 railroad cars could be ferried across the river in as little as six months. Vehicles were also ferried, as there were no automobile bridges in the area in the early 20th century. The ferry industry created numerous jobs in Cairo to handle large amounts of cargo and numerous passengers through the city.{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.niu.edu/2001/ihy010448.html |title=Cairo, Illinois |publisher=Lib.niu.edu |access-date=February 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613101320/http://www.lib.niu.edu/2001/ihy010448.html |archive-date=June 13, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

Wealthy merchants and shippers built numerous fine mansions in the 19th and early 20th century, including the Italianate Magnolia Manor, completed in 1872, and the Second Empire Riverlore Mansion, built by Capt. William P. Halliday in 1865. Across the street from the customs house, the Cairo Public Library was constructed in 1883 of Queen Anne-style architecture, finished with stained glass windows and ornate woodwork. The library was dedicated on July 19, 1884, as the A. B. Safford Memorial Library. Anna E. Safford paid for the construction of the Library and donated it to the city. These and other significant buildings are also listed on the National Register.John McMurray Lansden. A history of the city of Cairo, Illinois. 1910. pp 153–154, 231–234

For protection from seasonal flooding, Cairo is completely enclosed by a series of levees and flood walls, due to its low elevation between the rivers. Several buildings, including the old custom house, were originally designed to be built to a higher street level, to be at the same height as the top of the levees. That plan was scrapped as the cost of fill to raise the streets and surrounding land to that height proved to be impractical. In 1914, a large flood gate was constructed by Stupp Brothers of St. Louis, Missouri. The flood gate is known as the "Big Subway Gate", and it was designed to seal the northern levee in Cairo by closing over U.S. Highway 51. The gate weighs 80 tons, is 60 feet wide, 24 feet high, and five feet thick. With the addition of the gate, Cairo could become an island, completely sealed off from approaching flood waters.

Following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the levee system around Cairo was strengthened. As part of this project, the Corps of Engineers established the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway. 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. Following the flood, the concrete flood wall was raised to its current height. It is designed to protect the town from flood waters up to 64 feet.[http://michaelminn.net/america/structures/cairo_gate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927222519/http://michaelminn.net/america/structures/cairo_gate|date=September 27, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pjstar.com/free/x128435537/Cairo-flood-wall-holds-as-Ohio-River-rises |title=Cairo Flood Wall Holds as Ohio River Rises |publisher=PJ Star |access-date=August 16, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.stlbeacon.org/region/109997-over-under-and-through-the-ohios-assault-on-cairo |title=Over Under and Through the Ohio's Assault on Cairo |work=St. Louis Beacon |access-date=August 16, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907145555/http://www.stlbeacon.org/region/109997-over-under-and-through-the-ohios-assault-on-cairo |archive-date=September 7, 2011 }}{{cite web |url=http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2011/05/coast-guard-army-corps-of-engineers-assist-residents-in-midwest-flood-zone/110426-g-xv958-125-flooding-near-cairo-ill-and-birds-point |title=Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers Assist Residents in Midwest Flood Zone |publisher=Coast Guard |access-date=August 16, 2012 |archive-date=March 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318054747/http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2011/05/coast-guard-army-corps-of-engineers-assist-residents-in-midwest-flood-zone/110426-g-xv958-125-flooding-near-cairo-ill-and-birds-point/ |url-status=dead }}

In 1942, the federal government constructed a new U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Cairo. Still growing, the city had a population approaching 15,000. The new federal court house, located at 1500 Washington, was designed by the architects Louis A. Simon and George Howe. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois moved into the new courthouse in 1942, from the old U.S. Custom House and Post Office.

After the U.S. district court structure in Illinois was reorganized in 1978, the court house was used for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The building remains in use by the federal courts and as the active post office for Cairo. The courthouse was built and is operated by the U.S. General Services Administration.{{cite web|url=http://www.iolp.gsa.gov/iolp/BuildingInfo.asp?bID=IL0017 |title=General Services Administration (GSA) Inventory of Owned and Leased Properties |access-date=August 16, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313054952/http://www.iolp.gsa.gov/iolp/BuildingInfo.asp?bID=IL0017 |archive-date=March 13, 2012 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6BF4_US_Post_Office_and_Courthouse_Cairo_Illinois |title=U.S. Post Office and Courthouse – Cairo, Illinois |access-date=August 16, 2012}}

File:WillJamesMob.gif of Will James on November 11, 1909.]]

Cairo's turbulent history of race relations is marked by the 1909 spectacle lynching of black resident William James. In 1900, Cairo had a population of nearly 13,000. Of that total, approximately 5,000 residents were African-American, or 38 percent. In 1900, this was an unusually high black population for a town of Cairo's size in the North. Five percent of all black residents in the state of Illinois lived here. Later in the early 20th century, Chicago became the center of black life in the state, as it was the destination of tens of thousands of migrants during the Great Migration.

The Illinois constitution of 1818 allowed for limited slavery in the salt mines and allowed current slave owners to retain their slaves. The General Assembly also passed legislation that severely curtailed the rights of free blacks residing in the state and discouraged the migration of free blacks. If a black person was unable to present proof of their freedom they could be fined $50 or sold by the sheriff to the highest bidder. Not long after the passage of the constitution, the state's general assembly adopted a pro-slavery resolution that announced its approval of slavery in slave-holding states and at the same time condemned the formation of abolition societies within Illinois’ boundaries.{{cite web |url=https://www2.illinois.gov/dnrhistoric/Research/pages/afamhist.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805131910/https://www2.illinois.gov/dnrhistoric/Research/Pages/AfAmHist.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 5, 2019 |title=African Americans in Illinois |website=Historic Reservation Division }}

Although Black people comprised a large proportion of the Cairo population, they were frequently discriminated against in jobs and housing. Race relations were strained in 1900.{{cite web |url=http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/11/11/1909-will-james-the-froggie-lynched-cairo-illinois |title=1909: Will James, 'the Froggie', lynched in Cairo |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=August 16, 2012}} The state passed an anti-lynching law in 1905.

On the night of November 11, 1909, two men were lynched. The first was William James, an African American accused of the murder of Anna Pelly, a young white woman killed three days earlier, although there was no physical or circumstantial evidence connecting him to the crime.[https://www.jstor.org/stable/2649083?read-now=1&loggedin=true&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents " 'An Outrageous Proceeding': A Northern Lynching and Enforcement of Anti-Lynching Legislation in Illinois, 1905–1910", Journal of Negro History, 1999],{{jstor|2649083}} The second man lynched was Henry Salzner, a white man who had allegedly murdered his white wife the previous August.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} A group of civil rights activists in Chicago hired journalist Ida B. Wells to investigate the lynchings. After the residents had calmed down, Governor Deneen enforced the 1905 anti-lynching law by dismissing Sheriff Davis for failing to protect James and Salzner. Wells sided with the governor against reinstatement.

The slow economic decline of Cairo can be traced to local and regional changes back to the early 20th century. In 1889, the Illinois Central Railroad bridge was completed over the Ohio River, which brought about a decline in ferry business. The immediate economic impact was not severe, as the railroad traffic still was directed through Cairo, and automobile and truck traffic increased in the early 20th century.

In 1905, a second bridge was constructed across the Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois. The effects of the second bridge were more severe, as rail traffic through Cairo was now reduced and railroad ferry operations were no longer necessary. As the steamboat industry was replaced with barges, river traffic had less reason 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. Completion of the two bridges ended the ferry industry in Cairo, putting many people out of work. As the town was bypassed by two bridges to the south, it also lost the benefit of motorist travel and trade between the states. Motorists cross the southern tip of Illinois between Missouri and Kentucky, completely bypassing the city of Cairo.[http://michaelminn.net/america/structures/cairo_gate/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927222519/http://michaelminn.net/america/structures/cairo_gate/|date=September 27, 2011}} While the city was protected by its levees from destruction when the Ohio River rose to record heights during the 1937 flood, the city's economic decline continued.

{{Main|Racial unrest in Cairo, Illinois}}

Between the 1930s and 1960s, the population in Cairo remained fairly steady; however, many jobs were gone as the shipping, railroad, and ferry industries left the city. Population decline began as workers moved to other cities.

Racial tensions rose in the late 1960s as African-Americans sought implementation of gains under new federal civil rights laws passed as a result of the Civil Rights Movement. The police, fire department, and most city jobs were still overwhelmingly dominated by whites. African-Americans were allegedly harassed by the police and unjustly targeted. On July 16, 1967, Robert Hunt, a 19-year-old black soldier home on leave, was allegedly found hanged in the Cairo police station. Police reported that Hunt had hanged himself with his t-shirt, but many members of the black community of Cairo accused the police of murder. There had been an alleged history of police discrimination and violence against black residents of the city.{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.niu.edu/1997/ii970228.html |title=Let my people Go |access-date=August 16, 2012}}

The death of Robert Hunt sparked aggressive protests in Cairo's black community. On July 17, 1967, a large portion of the black population 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 motivated riots that broke out in major cities in the United States in the summer of 1967. During the night of rioting on July 17, three stores and a warehouse in Cairo were burned to the ground, and windows were broken out of numerous other buildings. The National Guard unit at Cairo was activated to respond to the violence."Alert Guard After Racial Riots in Cairo". Chicago Tribune. July 18, 1967. p. 11.

On July 20, 1967, one of the leaders of the violence in Cairo warned white city officials, "Cairo will look like Rome burning down" if city leaders did not meet the demands of the black groups in Cairo by Sunday, July 23, 1967. The spokesman represented approximately one hundred black residents of the Pyramid Court housing project. They demanded new job opportunities, organized recreation programs for their children, and an end to police brutality. Cairo Mayor Lee Stenzel and other city leaders met with federal and state representatives to ensure that a plan was developed to satisfy the demands by the deadline in an effort to head off any additional rioting."Scattered Race Riot Recurring". The Free-Lance Star. July 21, 1967. p. 3."Cairo Seeks to Head Off More Riots". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. July 22, 1967. p. 1.

In response to the rioting, the white community in Cairo formed a citizens protection group that was deputized by the sheriff. The protection group became known as the "White Hats", because many of its 600 members began wearing white construction hats to show their membership while patrolling the streets to maintain order. In the following two years, accusations of White Hat bullying incidents in the black community began to increase. In early 1969, a few activists of the civil rights struggle formed the Cairo United Front, a civil rights organization to bring together the local NAACP, a cooperative association, and a couple of black street gangs. The Cairo United Front was formed to organize the efforts of the black population in Cairo to counter the White Hats. The United Front formally accused the White Hats of intimidating the black community, and presented a list of seven demands to the City of Cairo. The seven demands included appointment of a black police chief, appointment of a black assistant fire chief, and an equal black-white ratio in all city jobs."Races: War in Little Egypt". Time. September 26, 1969.

Racial violence in Cairo reached a peak during summer 1969 as the Cairo United Front began leading protests and demonstrations to end segregation and draw attention to its seven demands. The protests led to a rash of violence that was stopped only when Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie deployed National Guardsmen to restore the peace. In summer 1969, the Cairo United Front also began what became a decade-long boycott of white-owned businesses, which had generally not hired blacks as clerks or staff. The boycott encompassed virtually all the businesses in the town.

In December 1969, violence escalated again and several businesses were burned on Saturday, December 6. Early that morning, residents of the Pyramid Courts housing project opened fire on three firemen and the Chief of Police while they were responding to one of the intense fires. During the shootout, the Chief of Police and one of the firemen were shot by a high-powered rifle. Thirteen people were eventually arrested during the conflict."2 Businesses Burn Saturday Morning". The Southeast Missourian. December 8, 1969. p. 4. 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."Racial Tension Prompts Police Chief to Quit". Meriden Journal. January 2, 1970. p. 8.

To enforce the boycott, African-American picketing of businesses continued throughout 1970. In December, the city enacted a new city ordinance banning picketing within 20 feet of a business. Another large violent clash erupted as a result of the new city ordinance. Following the violence, the United Front called for another large rally and resumed picketing at white-owned businesses despite the new ordinance. The picketing turned violent after police heard shots fired and moved on the crowd."More Picketing Called Following Cairo, Ill Riot". The Lewiston Daily. December 7, 1970. p. 4.

In 1978, the Cairo I-57 Bridge across the Mississippi River was opened. The interstate largely bypassed Cairo to the north, crippling the remaining hospitality industry in the city. Cairo's hospital closed in December 1986, due to high debt and a dwindling number of patients.

File:Cairobridge.jpg

File:GEMblockCairoIL.jpg

File:Ruined buildings in Cairo, IL.png

With the decline in river trade, as has been the case in many other cities on the Mississippi, Cairo has suffered a marked decline in its economy and population. Its highest population was 15,203 in 1920;[http://sanborn.umi.com/il/1760/dateid-000007.htm?CCSI=105n Sanborn, "Cairo, IL"], University of Michigan in 2020 it had 1,733 residents, about an 89% loss of population from its peak a century earlier. The city has decreased in population for eight consecutive US census reports from 1950 to 2020.

The city faces many significant socio-economic challenges for the remaining population, including poverty, crime, issues in education, unemployment and rebuilding its tax base.

The closure of the Elmwood and McBride housing projects was announced by the federal government in 2017. In August 2017, Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development at the time, visited the city. Ten families had found new housing, but an estimated 400 people will be affected{{update inline|date=May 2023}} by the closure.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/08/09/542327211/carson-promises-to-help-residents-of-housing-projects-his-department-is-shutting|title=Carson Promises To Help Residents Of Housing Projects His Department Is Shutting Down|last=Siegler|first=Kurt|date=August 9, 2017|work=National Public Radio|access-date=2018-05-04|language=en}}

The community and region are working to stop abandonment of the city. They are restoring some architectural landmarks, and plan to develop heritage tourism focusing on the city's history and relationship to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Other cities have used such strategies to attract visitors and build new businesses to their communities.

A community clinic offers medical and dental care, and several mental health services. Local media include the Cairo Citizen weekly newspaper. Radio station WKRO is licensed to Cairo.

File:CairoIL from space annotated.jpg

Cairo is located at the confluence of the Ohio River with the Mississippi, near Mounds, Illinois. The elevation above sea level is {{convert|315|ft}}. The lowest point in the state of Illinois is located in Cairo at the Mississippi River.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Cairo has a total area of {{convert|9.11|sqmi|km2|2}}, of which {{convert|6.99|sqmi|km2|2}} (or 76.72%) is land and {{convert|2.12|sqmi|km2|2}} (or 23.28%) is water.{{Cite web |title=Gazetteer Files |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=Census.gov}}

The city of Cairo has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and has many characteristics of a city in the Upper South. Summers are hot and humid, with a daily average in July of {{convert|79|°F|1}} and temperatures reaching {{convert|90|°F|0}} on an average of 40 days annually. Winters are generally cool with mild periods, though extended stretches of cold can occur. Cairo's winter is typically mild by Illinois standards, as the January daily average is {{convert|34|°F|1}}. Precipitation is spread relatively uniformly throughout the year. On average, Cairo's low elevation and proximity to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers prevent strong winter lows and plunging temperatures; however, during the summer months, those similar features retain heat and humidity, creating muggy conditions.

{{Weather box

|location = Cairo, Illinois (1991–2020 normals)

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 75

|Feb record high F = 77

|Mar record high F = 85

|Apr record high F = 94

|May record high F = 98

|Jun record high F = 106

|Jul record high F = 108

|Aug record high F = 103

|Sep record high F = 103

|Oct record high F = 92

|Nov record high F = 82

|Dec record high F = 79

|year record high F = 108

|Jan high F = 43.4

|Feb high F = 48.2

|Mar high F = 58.6

|Apr high F = 69.9

|May high F = 78.3

|Jun high F = 85.9

|Jul high F = 88.7

|Aug high F = 87.8

|Sep high F = 81.7

|Oct high F = 70.9

|Nov high F = 57.9

|Dec high F = 46.7

|year high F = 68.2

|Jan mean F = 34.7

|Feb mean F = 38.9

|Mar mean F = 48.1

|Apr mean F = 58.7

|May mean F = 68.0

|Jun mean F = 76.0

|Jul mean F = 79.2

|Aug mean F = 77.6

|Sep mean F = 70.6

|Oct mean F = 59.3

|Nov mean F = 47.6

|Dec mean F = 38.4

|year mean F = 58.1

|Jan low F = 26.0

|Feb low F = 29.5

|Mar low F = 37.6

|Apr low F = 47.5

|May low F = 57.7

|Jun low F = 66.1

|Jul low F = 69.6

|Aug low F = 67.5

|Sep low F = 59.6

|Oct low F = 47.7

|Nov low F = 37.4

|Dec low F = 30.1

|year low F = 48.0

|Jan record low F = −12

|Feb record low F = −5

|Mar record low F = 6

|Apr record low F = 25

|May record low F = 36

|Jun record low F = 45

|Jul record low F = 56

|Aug record low F = 50

|Sep record low F = 39

|Oct record low F = 27

|Nov record low F = 5

|Dec record low F = −9

|year record low F = −12

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.80

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.88

|Mar precipitation inch = 4.85

|Apr precipitation inch = 5.38

|May precipitation inch = 5.08

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.37

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.10

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.18

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.51

|Oct precipitation inch = 4.14

|Nov precipitation inch = 4.46

|Dec precipitation inch = 4.25

|year precipitation inch = 51.00

|Jan snow inch = 3.1

|Feb snow inch = 2.4

|Mar snow inch = 1.6

|Apr snow inch = 0

|May snow inch = 0

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0

|Nov snow inch = 0.3

|Dec snow inch = 1.1

|year snow inch = 8.6

|Jan sun = 144.4

|Feb sun = 150.5

|Mar sun = 198.0

|Apr sun = 238.8

|May sun = 277.8

|Jun sun = 307.4

|Jul sun = 318.9

|Aug sun = 300.8

|Sep sun = 242.4

|Oct sun = 216.9

|Nov sun = 139.3

|Dec sun = 125.4

|year sun = 2660.6

|Jan percentsun = 47

|Feb percentsun = 50

|Mar percentsun = 53

|Apr percentsun = 60

|May percentsun = 63

|Jun percentsun = 70

|Jul percentsun = 71

|Aug percentsun = 72

|Sep percentsun = 65

|Oct percentsun = 62

|Nov percentsun = 46

|Dec percentsun = 42

|year percentsun =

|source 1 = NOAA (1991–2020 temperature and precipitation normals, sun 1961–1987){{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00093809&format=pdf

| title = Station: Cairo 3N, IL

| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = July 26, 2021}}{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_IV/US/GROUP1/00111166.TXT |title=Cairo/WSO City IL Climate Normals 1961–1987 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=December 10, 2013}}

|source 2 = Western Regional Climate Center (snow normals 1948–2012),{{cite web |url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?il1166 |title=General Climate Summary Tables |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center |access-date=February 28, 2013}} The Weather Channel (extremes) {{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0168 |title=Climate Statistics for Cairo, Illinois |access-date=March 23, 2012}}

|date=April 2012}}

{{US Census population

|1850= 242

|1860= 2188

|1870= 6267

|1880= 9011

|1890= 10324

|1900= 12566

|1910= 14548

|1920= 15203

|1930= 13532

|1940= 14407

|1950= 12123

|1960= 9348

|1970= 6277

|1980= 5931

|1990= 4846

|2000= 3632

|2010= 2831

|2020= 1733

|footnote=[https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html Decennial US Census]

}}

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

As of the 2020 census{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US1710383 |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=data.census.gov}} there were 1,733 people, 828 households, and 377 families residing in the city. The population density was {{Convert|190.29|PD/sqmi|PD/km2}}. There were 1,036 housing units at an average density of {{Convert|113.76|/sqmi|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the city was 25.33% White, 68.96% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.63% from other races, and 4.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.

There were 828 households, out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.07% were married couples living together, 20.29% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.47% were non-families. 52.29% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.55% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.42 and the average family size was 2.16.

The city's age distribution consisted of 21.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 16.9% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 23.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,661, and the median income for a family was $31,280. Males had a median income of $14,464 versus $21,188 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,661. About 32.9% of families and 36.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 72.1% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,831 people, 1,268 households, and 677 families residing in the city. There were 1,599 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 69.6% Black or African American, 27.9% White, less than 0.1% Native American, less than 0.1% Asian, less than 0.1% Pacific Islander, less than 0.1% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were less than 0.1% of the population.

There were 1,268 households, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.2% were married couples living together, 28.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 43.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 3.00.

The distribution of the population by age was 31.6% 19 or under, 6.3% from 20 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% 65 or older. The median age was 36.9 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $16,682, and the median income for a family was $31,507. Males working full-time, year-round had a median income of $37,750 versus $21,917 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,461. About 33.0% of families and 44.2% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 71.7% of those under the age of 18 and 20.6% of those ages 65 and older.

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2000, there were 3,632 people, 1,561 households, and 900 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|515.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,885 housing units at an average density of 103.2 per km{{sup|2}} (267.3 per sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 35.93% white, 61.70% black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 1,561 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.3% were married couples living together, 25.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.08.

The distribution of the population by age was 30.4% under 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,607, and the median income for a family was $28,242. Males had a median income of $28,798 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,220. About 27.1% of families and 33.5% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 47.0% of those under the age of 18 and 20.9% of those ages 65 and older.

The city is served by Cairo Community Unit School District 1. Based on census estimates, the Cairo school district has the highest percentage in Illinois of children in poverty, 60.6%. This is the fifteenth highest percentage of any city in the United States.[http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/734613,CST-NWS-poorskul10.article "If you're poor, you have to work harder... nothing is fair"], Chicago Sun-Times, January 10, 2008 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115110604/http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/734613%2CCST-NWS-poorskul10.article |date=January 15, 2010}} The district has one elementary school, Emerson Elementary School. Middle and high school students attend Cairo Junior/Senior High School. Bennett Elementary School closed in 2010.[http://www.kfvs12.com/story/12087067/bennett-elementary-to-close-in-cairo "Bennett Elementary to Close in Cairo"], KFVS 12, March 4, 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510045639/http://www.kfvs12.com/story/12087067/bennett-elementary-to-close-in-cairo |date=May 10, 2016}}

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville formerly operated St. Joseph Grade School.{{cite web |url=http://www.diobelle.org/schools/index.html |title=Schools |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville |date=2001-08-18 |accessdate=2022-02-23 |quote=Cairo St. Joseph Grade School 421 Cross Street Cairo, IL 62914 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010818132946/http://www.diobelle.org/schools/index.html |archive-date=18 August 2001 |url-status=dead}} It was previously K–12,{{cite news|last=Quirin|first=Liz|title=End of an Era as Catholic School Closed at St. Joseph's in Cairo|newspaper=The Messenger|place=Belleville, Illinois|date=2003-08-01|pages=9, 17}} – [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96309786/ Clipping of first] and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96309809/ of second page] at Newspapers.com. but by 2001 it had only elementary grades. Enrollment was over 130 during the 1976–1977 school year. This figure dropped to 63 in 2000, and then 25, including seven Catholic students, in the 2002–2003 school year. The school closed in 2003.

Shawnee Community College opened an extension center in Cairo in January 2019.{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Molly |title=Shawnee Community College plants roots in Cairo with opening of new extension center |url=https://thesouthern.com/news/local/education/shawnee-community-college-plants-roots-in-cairo-with-opening-of-new-extension-center/article_dc7071fa-f7f8-5003-adea-5914a5e2c45c.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=The Southern Illinoisan |date=8 January 2019 |language=en}}

Cairo is in Illinois's 12th congressional district and is represented in Congress by Republican Mike Bost.

File:Cairo, IL Ohio River waterfront.jpg

Amtrak's Chicago–New Orleans City of New Orleans served Cairo until October 25, 1987; since then, its closest stops to Cairo are Carbondale, Illinois, {{convert|53|mi|km}} to the north, and Fulton, Kentucky, {{convert|43|mi|km}} to the south.{{Sanders-Heartland}}, p. 105

Major highways include:

• {{jct|state=IL|I|57}}
• {{jct|state=IL|US|62}}
• {{jct|state=IL|US|60}}
• {{jct|state=IL|US|51}}
• {{jct|state=IL|IL|3}}

Cairo's location on a spit of land 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.

Cairo Regional Airport provides general aviation service to the city.

The closest airports with regular service are Barkley Regional Airport and Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The airports are approximately 23 miles and 26 miles away, respectively.

File:Magnolia Manor.jpg]]

Magnolia Manor is a postbellum manor, built by the Cairo businessman Charles A. Galigher in 1869. It is a 14-room red brick house which features double walls intended to keep out the city's famous dampness with their ten-inch airspaces. Inside the home are many original, 19th-century furnishings. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 17, 1969.{{NRISref|version=2010a}} The house is operated as a Victorian period historic house museum by the Cairo Historical Association.

File:Cairo Illinois 1997 USGS.jpg in foreground, Mississippi River in background]]

Other points of interest include:

• Fort Defiance Park
• Gem Theatre{{cite web |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2668/ |title=Gem Theatre in Cairo, IL |publisher=Cinema Treasures |access-date=February 16, 2013}}
• The Hewer, a 1902 public sculpture by George Gray Barnard
• Cairo Custom House & Post Office{{cite web |url=http://www.southernmostillinoishistory.net/customhouse.html |title=customhouse |publisher=Southernmost Illinois History |access-date=February 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808002614/http://www.southernmostillinoishistory.net/customhouse.html |archive-date=August 8, 2012 |url-status=dead }}
• The Riverlore{{cite web |url=http://www.pilotlight2000.com/historic/riverl.htm |title=Riverlore, Cairo IL, Pilot Light 2000 Historic Page |publisher=Pilotlight2000.com |access-date=February 16, 2013}}
• A. B. Safford Memorial Library{{cite web |url=http://www.pilotlight2000.com/historic/library.htm |title=Cairo Public Library, Cairo IL, Pilot Light 2000 Historic Page |publisher=Pilotlight2000.com |date=May 5, 1985 |access-date=February 16, 2013}}
• Millionaire's Row, and the Riverlore Mansion, and Magnolia Manor

• Filmmakers Jacob Cartwright and Nick Jordan's feature-length documentary Between Two Rivers (2012){{cite web |url=http://www.betweentworivers.net |title=Between Two Rivers |access-date=January 13, 2012}} is about the social, economic and environmental problems faced by Cairo.
• Cairo was the original destination for Huck and Jim in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as they planned to paddle up the Ohio River to obtain freedom for Jim. They drifted 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.{{cite web |author=Mark Twain |url=http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/twain.htm |title=Life on the Mississippi 173–176 (1883) |publisher=Lhup.edu |access-date=February 16, 2013}}
• Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842 and was unimpressed with what he saw as a disease-ridden backwater. It became the model for the town of Eden in his 1843–44 novel Martin Chuzzlewit.{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/facts/5/278841/Martin-Chuzzlewit-as-discussed-in-Cairo-Illinois-United-States |title=Martin Chuzzlewit – as discussed in Cairo, Illinois, United States |access-date=August 16, 2012}}
• Stephen Foster in 1850 wrote and published a popular minstrel song called "Way Down in Ca-i-ro"{{cite book |last=O'Connell |first=JoAnne |year=2016 |title=The Life and Songs of Stephen Foster: A Revealing Portrait of the Forgotten Man Behind 'Swanee River,' 'Beautiful Dreamer,' and 'My Old Kentucky Home' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ooc1DQAAQBAJ |location=New York City |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=157 |isbn=9781442253865}}
• The musician Stace England produced a concept music CD called Greetings From Cairo, Illinois (2005), inspired by the city's turbulent history.{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Rachel |title=Singer Evokes Turbulent History of Cairo, Ill. |newspaper=National Public Radio |date=January 29, 2006 |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5031980 |access-date=September 19, 2009 |quote=England, 43, grew up on a Wabash River farm in central Illinois. 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.}}
• In the Disney Channel series So Weird episode 58 season 3 episode 19, an Egyptology museum in the town of Cairo, Illinois, turns out to be inhabited by a reanimated mummy.{{Cite web|last=Anderson|first=George|date=October 25, 2018|title=epguides.com presents So Weird a Brief Episode Guide by George Fergus|url=http://epguides.com/SoWeird/guide.shtml|website=Epguides}}
• The town serves as a plot point in Neil Gaiman's 2001 novel American Gods.{{Cite book |author=Gaiman, Neil |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1369840573 |title=American Gods |year=2023 |publisher=Dark Horse Comics |isbn=978-1-5067-3499-6 |oclc=1369840573}}
• In the 1969 John Wayne film True Grit, Matti Ross asks Rooster what he did after the war. His answer was he robbed a pay master for a grub stake, then a little bank in New Mexico. After that he moved to Cairo, Illinois and opened an eatery called the Green Frog.
• American musician and singer-songwriter Pokey LaFarge, released a song named "Cairo, Illinois" on his 2015 album Something in the Water. The lyrics detail the narrator in the city, dealing with feelings of discontent in his personal life.

• Cairo had its own minor-league baseball team (variously known as the Egyptians, Champions, Giants and Dodgers) in the Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League in 1903–06, 1911–14, 1922–24 and 1946–50.
• The St. Louis Cardinals of the National League held their annual spring training camp in Cairo from 1943 to 1945, due to travel restrictions imposed by Major League Baseball during World War II.{{Cite web|url=https://retrosimba.com/2013/03/02/why-the-cardinals-chose-cairo-ill-for-spring-training/|title=Why the Cardinals chose Cairo, Ill., for spring training|date=2013-03-02|website=RetroSimba|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03}}
• The town of Cairo is known for its love of basketball. In 2017, the Cairo Pilots high school basketball team came close to their first state championship, finishing 23–6 for the season. Finishing within four games of a state championship was especially noteworthy given the school's size. Enrollment in fall 2017 was only 97 students.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/sports/as-cairo-illinois-reckons-with-public-housing-crisis-basketball-hangs-on/|title=Ben Carson called this small Illinois town a 'dying community.' Its people, and basketball, are hanging on.|last1=Dougherty|first1=Jesse|last2=Hutson|first2=Boswell|date=May 2, 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|access-date=2018-05-04}}

{{Main|List of people from Cairo, Illinois}}

• Illinois in the Civil War
• List of cities and towns along the Ohio River
• Steamboats of the Mississippi
• {{USS|Cairo|1861|6}}

{{reflist|30em}}

Published in the 19th century

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |publisher=J.H. Colton |location=New York |title=The Traveller's Directory for Illinois |author=John Mason Peck |author-link=John Mason Peck |date=1839 |oclc=29129415 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/travellersdirect00inpeck#page/84/mode/2up |chapter=City of Cairo and Canal Company|ol=24162626M }}
• {{Cite book |publisher=George W. Hawes |location=Chicago, Ill |title=Illinois State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1858 and 1859 |date=1858 |oclc=4757260 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/illinoisstategaz00hawe#page/24/mode/2up |chapter=Cairo|ol=24140361M }}
• {{Citation |publisher=Printed by B. Thurston |location=Portland [Me.] |title=The past, present and future of the city of Cairo, in North America |author=Cairo City Property (Cairo, Ill.) |date=1858 |oclc=13619400|ol=271527M |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJYUAAAAYAAJ}}
• {{Cite book |publisher=J.C.W. Bailey |location=Chicago |title=Illinois State Gazetteer and Business Directory, for the Years 1864–5 |date=1864 |oclc=6867103 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/illinoisstategaz00bail#page/170/mode/2up |chapter=Cairo|ol=7082742M }}
• {{Cite book |publisher=O.L. Baskin & Co. |location=Chicago|title=History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois |date=1883 |oclc=8695008 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofalexand01perr#page/n15/mode/2up |chapter=Part 1: Cairo|ol=6608394M }}

{{refend}}

Published in the 20th century

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |publisher=R. R. Donnelley & Sons |location=Chicago |title=A history of the city of Cairo, Illinois |author=John McMurray Lansden |date=1910 |oclc=3520487|ol=13506555M }}
• {{Cite book |publisher=Cairo Public Library |location=Cairo |author=Federal Writers' Project (Illinois) |title=Cairo guide |date=1938|ol=18085990M }}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Cairo, Illinois}}

{{Wikisource|Cairo}}

• [http://www.betweentworivers.net/ Between Two Rivers], a feature-length documentary about Cairo
• [https://abandonedonline.net/location/cairo/ Cairo, Illinois] at Abandoned
• [https://www.angelfire.com/wi/wisconsin42nd/cairo.html History of Cairo] by David Mascitelli
• [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cairo-illinois? Abandoned Town of Cairo, Illinois], at Atlas Obscura

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{{Cairo, Illinois}}

{{Alexander County, Illinois}}

{{Southern-Illinois}}

{{Illinois county seats}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Cape Girardeau–Jackson metropolitan area

Category:Cities in Illinois

Category:County seats in Illinois

Category:Populated places established in 1837

Category:Cities in Alexander County, Illinois

Category:Illinois populated places on the Mississippi River

Category:Illinois populated places on the Ohio River

Category:Illinois in the American Civil War

Category:Lowest points of U.S. states

Category:1837 establishments in Illinois

Category:Majority-minority cities and towns in Alexander County, Illinois