Cairo (Illinois)
| Cairo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Entrance to Cairo from the north |
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| Location in Illinois | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1858 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | Illinois | ||
| County : | Alexander County | ||
| Coordinates : | 37 ° 1 ′ N , 89 ° 11 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 ) | ||
| Residents : | 2,831 (as of 2010) | ||
| Population density : | 155.5 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 23.6 km 2 (approx. 9 mi 2 ) of which 18.2 km 2 (approx. 7 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Height : | 95 m | ||
| Postal code : | 62914 | ||
| Area code : | +1 618 | ||
| FIPS : | 17-10383 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 424699 | ||
 The confluence of the Ohio River with the Mississippi River at Fort Defiance south of Cairo |
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Cairo is a city in Alexander County in the US state of Illinois and its county seat . The 2010 census showed a population of 2,831. The pronunciation of the name, ˈkeɪɹoʊ , differs from the English pronunciation for Cairo . Cairo is one of the few cities in Illinois that is protected by dams.
history
An early attempt at settlement failed in 1818 and so Cairo was founded in 1837 by the Cairo City and Canal Company . Development was slow for the first fifteen years, with land sales beginning in 1853 with the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad , attracting more settlers. In 1858 the city was raised and in 1860 the number of residents exceeded the mark of 2,000.
In the 19th century, Cairo was an important port for steamships and even had its own customs house, which has since been converted into a museum. This time important building was by Alfred B. Mullett designed and is one of only seven still existing buildings of its kind. During the Civil War was Cairo beat of great strategic importance and in the course of the Civil War both Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew Hull Foote here a headquarters.
Within the metropolitan area are some prime examples of late 19th and early 20th century architecture from a prosperous community, including Magnolia Manor and Riverlore Mansion. Much of the city, including decaying abandoned neighborhoods, is on the National Register of Historic Places .
The population has steadily decreased since the 1920s: 1920: 15,203; 1940: 14,407; 1950: 12.123. Today Cairo has only 3,632 inhabitants, although efforts are being made to stop the trend and renew Cairo's architectural landmarks to bring tourists and new opportunities to the city. Meanwhile, the population of Cairos decreased to 2831 (status: 2010).
In 1969, Cairo experienced widespread racial unrest . The United States National Guard was deployed to restore order. Black civil rights groups called for boycotts against white owner businesses. Meanwhile, Cairo has slowly overcome these tensions.
Other serious problems in the city include poverty , teenage pregnancies , poor education, unemployment and poor health care. In 2004, a factory that made foam upholstery for car seats was closed, adding to fears of the future in the city.
schools
The city is part of the Cairo Unit School District 1 . According to projections by the Census Bureau, the rate of children living below the poverty line in this school district is more than 60%, the highest in Illinois. It ranks 15th in the United States.
There are two elementary schools in Cairo, Bennett Elementary School and Emerson Elementary School. Middle school and high school students attend Cairo Junior / Senior High School together.
geography
Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River , making it the southernmost and lowest-lying city in the state of Illinois. The rivers meet at Fort Defiance , a civil war fortress that was under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant .
Due to the location of Cairo on a peninsula between the two rivers, the two neighboring states of Missouri and Kentucky are connected by the US highways US 60 and US 62 , which run together in this section, across the state of Illinois. It is the only case in the United States where two neighboring states do not have direct road links. US 51 comes from the north as Sycamore Street and Washington Avenue through Cairo to the intersection with US 60 and US 62, east of the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge . All three highways then lead together eastwards over the Cairo Ohio River Bridge and into Kentucky in the direction of Wickliffe .
Cairo is located on the Canadian National Railway from New Orleans to Chicago . The railway line crosses the Ohio River on the Cairo Rail Bridge . The Interstate 57 touches Cairo in the northwest corner. A regional airport is located about five kilometers outside of Cairo in a north-westerly direction.
Cairo's geographical coordinates are 37 ° 1 ' N , 89 ° 10' W . Cairo is 96 m above sea level .
According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of 23.6 km² ; 5.4 km² (= 22.78%) of this is water.
Demographic data
| year | Residents¹ |
|---|---|
| 1850 | 242 |
| 1860 | 2,188 |
| 1870 | 6.267 |
| 1880 | 9,011 |
| 1890 | 10,324 |
| 1900 | 12,566 |
| 1910 | 14,548 |
| 1920 | 15.203 |
| 1930 | 13,532 |
| 1940 | 14,407 |
| 1950 | 12.123 |
| 1960 | 9,378 |
| 1970 | 6.277 |
| 1980 | 5,931 |
| 1990 | 4,846 |
| 2000 | 3,632 |
| 2010 | 2,831 |
| Source: US Census Bureau | |
At the time of the United States Census 2000, 3,632 people lived in the city. The population density was 198.9 people per km ². There were 1,885 housing units at an average of 103.2 per km ². The Cairo population was 35.93% White , 61.70% Black or African American , 0.08% Native American , 0.72% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.36% of other races belong to and 1.18% named two or more races. 0.74% of the population declared to be Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The residents of Cairo distributed to 1,561 households out of which 30.4% were living in children under 18 years of age. 29.3% of households are married, 25.2% had a female head of the household without a husband and 42.3% did not form families. 39.7% of households were made up of individuals and someone lived in 17.6% of all households aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.08.
The urban population was divided into 30.4% minors, 8.1% 18–24 year olds, 22.0% 25–44 year olds, 21.6% 45–64 year olds and 17.9% aged 65 years or more. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 women there were 79.5 men. For every 100 women over the age of 18, there were 70.2 men.
The median household income in Cairo was 21,607 US dollars and the median family income reached the amount of 28,242 US dollars. The median income for men was $ 28,798 versus $ 18,125 for women. The per capita income in Cairo was $ 16,220. 33.5% of the population and 27.1% of families had an income below the poverty line , including 47.0% of minors and 20.9% of those aged 65 and over.
National Register of Historic Places
There are three entries for Cairo on the National Register of Historic Places :
| Ref. Number | Surname | address | Entry on |
| 79000815 | Cairo Historic District | roughly bounded by Park, 33rd, Sycamore, 21st, Cedar and 4th St. and the Ohio River | January 26, 1979 |
| 69000053 | Magnolia Manor | 2700 Washington Ave. | 17th December 1969 |
| 73000689 | Old Customhouse | Washington and 15th St. | July 24, 1973 |
sons and daughters of the town
- John 'Egyptian' Healy (1866-1899), baseball player
- Rex Ingram (1895–1969), actor
- Estelle Yancey (1896–1986), blues singer
- Ed Morgan (1904-1980), baseball player
- Caroline Smith (1906–1994), water diver and Olympic champion
- Chet Covington (1910-1976), baseball player
- Charles Hayes (1918–1997), politician
- Vern Curtis (1920-1992), baseball player
- Ted Joans (1928–2003), trumpeter, jazz poet and painter
- Gracia Burnham (born 1959), Protestant missionary
Cairo in literature
Cairo is a travel destination of Huckleberry Finn and his friend Jim in the popular book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain . Since Cairo was a large river port at the time, the two hoped to board a steamboat to Ohio and thus reach freedom.
By Charles Dickens Cairo was in the 1843 American Notes represented blunt. Dickens wrote ... a hotbed of suffering, an ugly ulcer, a grave unpraised by any gleam of confidence: a place without a single quality in earth or air or water to judge: such a stigma is Cairo
Cairo also plays a role in the book American Gods by Neil Gaiman .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tom Noga: Where the people are too poor to argue. Deutschlandradio Kultur, February 21, 2016, accessed on February 21, 2016 .
- ↑ http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/675
- ↑ " ... a hotbed of disease, an ugly sepulcher, a grave uncheered by any gleam of promise: a place without one single quality, in earth or air or water, to commend it: such is this dismal Cairo. "
