Cairo's Magnolia Manor provides glimpse of the past, luxurious living

It takes less than an hour to travel from Cape Girardeau to Cairo, Ill. But when you step inside Cairo's Magnolia Manor, you'll feel as if you've traveled more than 100 years back in time.

Charles Galigher designed the four-story, 14-room Victorian home and built it over a three-year period from 1869 to 1872 with the help of his sons, Frank, Albert and Charles Frederick (C. Fred).

"He could have gotten it done in two years, but he let the foundation settle for a year," says Tim Salpinski, the manor's curator.

Galigher could afford to wait the extra year: A mill owner, he sold flour around the world, including to Queen Victoria via her agent in New York City. He also sold hardtack to the Union Army, forging a friendship with Gen. Ulysess S. Grant.

The Galigher family lived a life of luxury in the manor. A pump room in the basement was used to send water to the attic, which then flowed down to provide the house with running water. (The house rule, according to Salpinski, was that if you lived in the house, you took a turn pumping water. This applied to the family as well as the governess and servants.)

Magnolia Manor in Cairo, Ill., as seen Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. (Laura Simon)

Galigher also designed the house to have double walls with a 10-inch airspace in between, which provided insulation and protected the home from dampness. Salpinski says he believes the double walls also are responsible for the house still being structurally sound.

The Galigher family lived in the home from 1872 until 1905, when they moved to another, smaller home in Cairo.

From 1905 until 1952, the mansion had three private owners: H.H. Candee, P.T. Langan and Fain W. King.

In 1952 the Cairo Historical Association was formed and took on the preservation and care of the home, which the group continues to this day.

When C. Fred Galigher learned that his family home -- the first he remembered, according to Salpinski -- was being turned into a museum, he donated many of his family's pieces to the association. Many items on display in the home are original to it: the bed and armoire in the master bedroom were built for the house, as were some of the furnishings in Frank Galigher's bedroom. That bedroom is where Gen. Ulysses S. Grant slept when he visited the Galighers after his presidency. Other original pieces include artwork and the dining room table and chairs. All of the light fixtures are original, though they were wired for electricty by the Candee family; the Galighers lit their home with carbite gas.

Magnolia Manor in Cairo, Ill., as seen Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. (Laura Simon)

Other items in the manor have been donated or purchased by the association over the years. One of the purchases is Victorian-era wallpaper in the library. "It had been in a warehouse in Chicago," Salpinski says.

Charles McGinness has been the association president for 17 years, but his involvement with the manor goes back much longer.

"I've been in Cairo my whole life," he says. "My grandparents lived across the street (from the manor); it's always been a part of my life. I got involved as a teen giving tours."

He says running the manor takes all of the association's resources.

"There's no federal or state funding," he says.

But, money is always needed for maintenance and repairs -- though two foundations help with that.

"We survive on tours and luncheons and things like that to meet monthly expenses," McGinness says.

Magnolia Manor, 2700 Washington Ave., is open for tours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Luncheons are held at the manor on the first Tuesday of April, May, June, September, October and November, by reservation only. Other events during the year include a Mardi Gras brunch on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday with an all-you-can-eat buffet and entertainment (reservation only) and Holiday House, which begins the day after Thanksgiving each year.

To make a reservation for an event or to schedule a group tour, call 618-734-0201.