CAIRO SEEKS TO REGAIN ITS FORMER PROSPERITY DURING 19TH CENTURY

CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo is a historic river town at the southernmost tip of Illinois, where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet.

In the 19th century, Cairo enjoyed the booming prosperity as a trading post on the nation's two mightiest rivers.

It was on Aug. 8, 1854, that the city was established as a port of delivery. In 1857, it was incorporated. From this time until the 1860s, the riverboat town acquired a reputation of being a booming center of commerce in the Mid-Mississippi Valley region.

Norman Halliday, a lifetime resident of the town, said for people coming down the Ohio River, Cairo was a natural stopping point.

The geographic location of Cairo was what brought people to the town, said Louise Ogg, a resident. "The Indians were the first settlers here, but the location pulled in other people also," Ogg said. "The first residents of Cairo lived on houseboats tied to the shore because it was easier than trying to live on land."

Ogg said many of the early settlers worked on the river. She said the sawmills came into being because of the large amount of timber around the town.

The Bird family opened a hotel near the river to accommodate the river travelers, Ogg said.

"The river used to be a big part of the town," Halliday said. "For many years the steamboats put the river water directly into their boilers, mud and all.

"Then, they would need to stop at Cairo and clean the boilers. But they eventually started putting the river water through condensers before using the water in the boilers, which meant the boilers didn't have to be cleaned as often." In addition, Halliday said, diesel fuel began being used and refrigeration became available on board.

"The boats could make a run from St. Paul to New Orleans and back without stopping to fuel or for food," Halliday said. "It was no longer necessary to make a stop in Cairo."

According to Ogg, Cairo did begin to boom during the Civil War because of the large number of troops that came to town. The town's population was about 200 before the war started and approximately 2,000 right after the war, she said.

"After the Civil War the town just continued to grow," Ogg said. "A lot of the early people who were interested in the area were primarily politicians. Many of those people didn't even come to Cairo, but purchased property here because they thought Cairo's potential was great."

The river traffic was strong until the railroad took over, Ogg said. But during the Civil War the two worked together.

"There was a brief resurgence of river power to haul supplies," Halliday said. "But after the Civil War there was another decline in river travel.

"Cairo was a big stopping place and the river people found it no longer necessary to stop."

Ogg said Cairo had three flour mills in operation at the time of the Civil War, and these played a dominate role in the town until World War I.

The town really started declining during the Depression, Ogg said. "People just didn't have the money to buy anything, so the businesses saw no purpose in making goods," she said. "The workers were laid off and the plants eventually closed as a result."

Before 1929, the Singer Corp. made all of its sewing machine cabinets in Cairo, Halliday said. "But the timber from the hills around Cairo was gone and the needed hardwood had to be brought in, so the plant ended up closing when the Depression hit."

Halliday said the Singer plant was leased by the Edison Corp. Edison had a naval contract to make torpedo parts, he said.

"At the end of the war, Edison wanted to open a plant in Cairo to make alkaline batteries," Halliday said. "But the local businessmen pressured him into leaving.

"Edison was paying big wages and offering fringe benefits, something that was unheard of at the time, and the other businessmen wanted him to stop paying the higher wages."

In the years between World Wars I and II Cairo's industries included flour mills, a vinegar factory, a brewery, a handle factory, a steel mill and the Singer Corp., Ogg said. Many of the industries had to do with milling and lumber, both of which were available in Cairo, she said.

"After World War II timber became scarce and the labor market was hard," Ogg said. "The unions also came in, and that was hard on Cairo because it was tougher for the employers to pay their workers."

The industries began to close and there were not any to replace them, Ogg said.

Major businesses now in Cairo include Bunge Corp., Servicemaster Industries Inc., and Burkhart Form Inc.

Tourism now plays a role in Cairo's existence. Cairo's Mangolia Manor has been a tourist attraction since 1950, and it contains much of the original furniture. Also, Cairo Public Library, which was opened in 1884, is the sixth oldest in Illinois.

Currently, there is a committee restoring the Customhouse, which was built in 1872, Ogg said. The first floor will be a museum. The committee hopes it will open sometime this spring, she said.