Founded: 1858
Best Known For: Being at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
Size of City: ~3000 Residents
Cairo, IL: Not to be confused with Cairo, Egypt (the town’s namesake), this small town is at the southernmost tip of Illinois. It is the lowest elevation in Illinois and it is the only city in Illinois to be located on a peninsula. The city is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, which means it has a long history of being a River town.
The town was once a large river town with the potential of becoming a trading hub of the confluence region. Unfortunately, River transportation began to decline with the invention of the train, plane and automobile. With the decline in River transportation, came the decline in the city’s population and income. But the 3000 residents that still call Cairo home have found the quaint downtown area to be a great place to live.
At the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, Cairo is in the center of the nation’s biology hot spot. It is at the southernmost tip and northernmost tip of many ranges of a variety of different types of species. Many species only interact in the area near Cairo; it has such a unique compilation of different types of all genera of living organisms.
Soul Phonics, a funk and soul band from the 1960’s began their journey in Cairo. The band was made up of 11 members and began when the kids were in junior high school. The magic started in Cairo, IL where they met to practice in the home of Catherine and Fred Wood Sr. This group entertained in clubs from Chicago to Memphis.
A documentary about Cairo was published earlier this year (2012) titled Between Two Rivers. Directed by Jacob Cartwright & Nick Jordan, Cartwright and Jordan found this city by sheer luck and while in the city they found it to be, not only a ready-made movie set, but also a city with history and stories to be told. As Mayor Judson Childs said, “Never give up; this is Cairo the city of Hope.”