CAIRO MAGNOLIA MANOR WILL HOST FALL LUNCHEONS

CAIRO, Ill. -- Magnolia Manor will become host to four fall luncheons to be held in October and November.

"The first luncheon for the fall schedule will be held Oct. 6," said Helen Bishoff, a member of the Cairo Historical Society, which operates the historic Victorian mansion. "Additional luncheons will be held in November."

The luncheons are open to the public, and will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. "We have limited seating capacity," said Bishoff. "Reservations must be made." The deadline for the first luncheon is Oct. 4, at 5 p.m.

The historical association hosts the luncheon, with proceeds used to help support the Manor, a four-story, 14-room mansion at 2700 Washington Ave. in Cairo.

"We depend on funds from four means to keep the mansion in good repair," said Bishoff. "The mansion is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. for tours.

"Each year we sponsor our Holiday House activities," said Bishoff. "The home is decorated in a festive decor. This event, which starts during the Thanksgiving weekend, attracts visitors from a wide area."

A fourth fund-raiser is the annual Magnolia Festival, which is usually held during the summer.

Magnolia Manor, is a National Historic Landmark, was constructed during the early 1970s.

President Ulysses S. Grant was a frequent visitor to Magnolia Manor. Grant, a general in the Army before he became president, had been stationed in Cairo five months during the Civil War, from September 1861 to February 1862.

Grant's headquarters were in the Holliday Hotel, a huge structure that overlooked the Ohio River. The Holliday Hotel in its final days served as a "storage shed" for the city of Cairo before giving way to a demolition crew in the late 1970s. The hotel had been damaged by fire earlier in the 1970s.

Grant occupied what is now referred to as "The Grant Room" during his visits to the home. The furniture in Grant's Room is still furnished with the original pieces including an ornate bed that were there during Grant's visits.

The mansion has had only five owners during its 120-year history Galigher, H.H. Candee, P.T. Langan, F.W. King and the current owner, the Cairo Historical Society.

During the Civil War, Galigher sold flour to the government, for use in hardtack biscuits for soldiers. It was through these transactions that he became friends with Grant.

Five years after the Civil War, in 1969, construction was started on the mansion. Bricks were fired locally at Klein's Brick Yard. Stone and ornamental iron grill was also produced locally.

Rooms in the mansion have high ceilings and each room has its own fireplace. A circular staircase leads to the third floor.

The mansion was completed in 1872 during a period when Cairo was a boon town.

Across the street from Magnolia Manor is a large white mansion that was constructed by William Parker Halliday. To the south is a nine-room mansion that is now a bed-and-breakfast operation.