questa città fantasma quasi diventò CAPITALE dell’america
Right now I’m at the crossroads of two of the most important rivers in North America, the Mississippi and the Ohio. On this site, there should be a metropolis with skyscrapers that rival those of New York or Chicago. And indeed there was a time when the thriving city on these banks was expected
To become one of the most important cities in the United States. In 1852, a cartographer hired by the railroad predicted that this city would be named America’s future capital. Over the next decade, this city grew at a rate of 800% and by the year 1870 it was even more populous and nationally significant
Than Los Angeles. But if we jump forward 150-odd years, we find a dying village that risks disappearing entirely with each passing year. Faded signs line the streets, pieces of glass and debris pile up on the sidewalks, the houses are falling apart, “Keep Out” signs adorn store entrances, and traffic on the main drag
Consists mostly of long haul truckers and road trippers, just passing through. What happened here? Why is there an quasi-ghost town in one of the most geographically strategic places on the entire continent? What was it that turned this prominent commercial center into what it is today? And what could this small Midwestern town
Teach us about the future of many other small towns across the States? Today we’ll find out together! This is Cairo, Illinois. Population: 1738. It’s named after Cairo, the Egyptian capital on the Nile, due to the similarities between the two cities. However, locals would be quick to remind you that their town is pronounced
Kay-ro. Nowadays, almost everyone outside of Alexander Country has forgotten about this American Cairo. Almost everyone, except me. And no, it’s not because I’m an immortal vampire who worked on the riverboats when Cairo was in its heyday. I mean, yes, I am an immortal vampire, but I spent the 19th century
As a prospector in California. Instead, I know Cairo from growing up in Chicago. Illinois is one of those states, like Iowa or Nebraska, that no one would pay attention to if it weren’t for the largest city, Chicago. Chicago, and its metropolitan area with almost 10 million inhabitants, is hidden in the
Northeast corner of the state. This area that includes Chicago is one of the most urban, economically productive, and politically progressive in the entire country. Even in spite of the fact it is known for harsh winters and high taxes. This is in contrast to the rest of the state, which is politically conservative, agrarian
And very rural. It’s thanks to these areas that Illinois is the second largest producer of America’s favorite crop: Corn. This cultural divide between Chicago and so-called “Downstate Illinois,” where citizens often feel forgotten and left behind in favor of the state’s largest city, has even fueled a not-insignificant movement to split Illinois in two.
So you see, going back to my childhood in Chicago, I always had this fascination with the southern part of my home state, and what life might be like in this forgotten area of Illinois. As a kid, I had a laminated placemat with a map of the 50 states,
Too different from this one here. Even though it was often covered with a thin layer of maple syrup, I studied it endlessly during my breakfasts. And for the aforementioned reasons, my focus was often fixed on the southernmost town in Illinois: Cairo. After thoroughly exploring Italy’s southernmost municipality last summer,
I knew it was time to do the same in Illinois, especially after learning more about this place’s shocking history. But before we talk about Cairo, we need to understand the geographical importance of its location. The Mississippi represents the backbone of North America’s largest river basin. At 2,340 miles long, the river itself
Is the second longest in North America, behind only the Missouri, which joins the Mississippi in St. Louis. For thousands of years, the Mississippi has been an important transportation and trade route, and not just for European settlers. In fact, 60% of North American birds follow the river as part of their
Migration routes. But even beyond the ornate nests that can be found along its banks, it was the Native Americans who established some of the first American cities here. 125 miles north of Cairo, near present day St. Louis, you can find the ancient ruins of Cahokia. Despite the usual European drag that
America lacks history, the city dates back to the year 600 AD. The site is best known for the mounds that the inhabitants built. Today, 80 of the 120 original mounds still exist. The largest of these is Monk’s Mound. Archaeologists estimate that during its peak in the 11th and 12th centuries, Cahokia’s population
May have surpassed that of London or Paris. It’s safe to say that the Mississippi was a major factor behind the United States becoming a global superpower–it’s the largest navigable river system in the world. The only waterfall on the Mississippi is located in Minneapolis. This makes it possible to transport
Raw materials and manufactured goods at low cost and then sell them in international markets. Thanks to the Mississippi, cities like Fort Benson and Nashville, located deep in the continent’s interior, are transformed into seaports. And at the confluence of the Mississippi and the Ohio, the Lower Mississippi begins, the busiest stretch
Of the entire system. As such, with the rapid westward expansion of the early 1800s–Lewis and Clark stopped here on their historic expedition to the Pacific– it’s not surprising that the Cairo City and Canal Company established the first successful settlement on this site in 1836. A group of French merchants had also settled
Here in 1702 but, prophetically, were killed in a Native American uprising. After a rough start, Cairo quickly became a center of trade and industry. Under the leadership of Darius B. Holbrook, hundreds of workers were employed in the construction of a farm, a hotel, a shipyard, and residences for the settlers. Crucially, Cairo’s growth
Coincided with the growth of steamboats on the Mississippi. These steamboats carried goods like cotton, wool, molasses, and sugar, but also passengers looking for fun and relaxation. In other words, losing your sobriety on a boat has always been a timeless pastime. Since it could take steamboats weeks to navigate the river,
Ports were needed to deliver goods, rest and resupply. As a result, Cairo became an important port city, bolstering local industry and stimulating the economy. In 1854, 3,798 steamers arrived at the port of Cairo– more than 10 per day. St. Louis, current population 300,000, received only 3,000.
By 1856, Cairo was the terminus of the Illinois Central Railroad, the longest railroad in the world. This further encouraged trade with Chicago. The American Civil War dramatically changed Cairo, which became the main Union military base on the Mississippi. Union General and future President Ulysses S. Grant personally maintained an office in
Cairo. Cairo’s prosperity continued even after the war. Perhaps the strangest thing about Cairo, compared to other ghost towns, with their rather primitive structures, made of stone or rotting wood, is that it’s full of Victorian mansions that date back to this period. Instead of amateur carpenters, you can tell that they were
Constructed by expert craftsmen, with fine details that you would expect to find in a European capital and not in a dying Midwestern city. In the past, this part of the city was called Millionaire’s Row. As the name suggests, many of the merchants who built their careers in Cairo raised their
Families here. Nowadays, however, you can buy two or three of these mansions for less than a single parking space in New York. More modest homes often sell for less than $15,000, which is absolutely insane when you consider that the average price of a used car in the US is around $30,000.
The mark Cairo left on history extends far beyond the mansions of Millionaires’ Row. In the 1830s and 40s, when Holbrook took the first steps to establish the city of Cairo, an investment craze spread not only in America but also overseas. Even in London a group of investors allocated money for this vision
Of a new American metropolis at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi. That’s why, when budding journalist and novelist Charles Dickens traveled to America in 1842, he made sure to visit Cairo. Dickens described the city as: Or, if you’re like me and can’t understand 19th century British English,
It was a disgusting swamp. It goes without saying that America was not necessarily Dickens’ favorite country. However, Cairo was viewed more favorably by the American author and lover of the Mississippi Sam Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, orphan Huck and runaway slave Jim, strive to
Reach Cairo from the slave state of Missouri. Indeed, Cairo was an important stop on the Underground Railroad, the network of safe places and abolitionists that helped slaves escape to Canada and the northern states, where slavery was prohibited. Cairo reached its peak in the Roaring Twenties, with more than 15,000 full-time residents,
Remaining so for the next few decades. During this time, Cairo boasted the #3 post office in the United States by mail volume. Despite the fact that Chicago was always the larger city, my Chicagoan grandmother remembers how people viewed Cairo, at the far south of their state, as a respectable and prosperous
City even in the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, Cairo was even remembered for its lively nightlife. So, what’s changed since then? In reality, Cairo’s decline can be traced back to the era before it even reached its peak. During the Civil War, the military occupation of the city diverted some trade to Chicago.
This process was repeated several times throughout Cairo’s history, with the development of more fuel-efficient boats, the construction of railroad bridges, and finally Interstate 57 in the 1970s. All of this meant less trade and fewer people stopping in Cairo. Due to its location between two rivers, flooding has always been a problem
For the city. In 1937, the Ohio River flood destroyed the homes of a million people. And then, in 2011, an even more severe flood threatened to destroy Cairo altogether, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to choose between sacrificing valuable farmland in Missouri or the now-ghost town.
But perhaps the biggest factor behind Cairo’s decline was the racial unrest of the 20th century. As we’ve established, since the Civil War, Cairo has boasted a large black community. In 1900, 5,000 of Cairo’s 13,000 residents were black, a significant percentage for a northern town at the time. The black community often faced
Discrimination and oppression from the white community. In 1909, tensions reached a breaking point. It’s a story repeated too many times in American history. William “Froggie” James, a black man, was accused of killing Anna Pelley, a white woman who worked in a store in Cairo. Even before the police investigation
Had ended, a mob of hundreds of men pursued James and the officers tasked with protecting him. James was captured and taken back to Cairo, where vigilantes hanged and shot him. 500 times, to be precise. All in front of an audience of around 10,000 spectators. If you read an extended account of the
Event, you’ll find that the details are even more horrifying. In short, the classic example of lynching. James’ case is one I would’ve expected to stumble upon in Alabama, not in a northern city like this. But after seeing it in person, I discovered an indescribably Southern feel
In Cairo, which makes sense when you realize that the city is actually closer in distance to Birmingham, Memphis, and Little Rock than Chicago. Racial tension continued to rise following the lynching of Froggie James. Black residents could only rent houses in the roughest areas of Cairo. White companies refused to hire African Americans for
Most jobs, and the black community was systematically excluded from political life. Despite a state law that prohibited racial segregation, black activist Charles Koen recounted an incident in 1962, when he and a group of other activists attempted to enter the Mark Twain Restaurant, where a waitress refused to serve them,
Informing the group that “n-words” couldn’t eat there and that she didn’t care what the law might say. In 1967, tensions once again reached a breaking point, when the lifeless body of Robert Hunt, a black soldier, was found in the Cairo prison. For the next 7 years, the city was plagued by violence.
Black residents formed the United Front to organize and boycott stores that discriminated against African Americans. These stores often preferred to close their doors instead of hiring black workers. Over time, a third of the businesses downtown left Cairo. In turn, white supremacists, including some police officers, created the White Hats.
Houses and shops were burned and bombed. The two sides often exchanged gunfire. The conflict resulted in a dramatic case of “white flight,” a widespread phenomenon where whites emigrated from multicultural cities and neighborhoods in favor of whiter communities. In this sense, Cairo’s story is emblematic of the struggle for racial justice
That was occuring nationwide. Except that, in Cairo, the racial riots of the 60s and 70s represented the final nail in the coffin, from which the city never managed to recover. In 2010, Cairo’s residents numbered only 2,831. Over the past decade, the population has dropped by another 1,100 or more.
Alexander County is one of the fastest shrinking counties in the United States. There are no more gas stations or luxury hotels to spend the night in. The center is mostly empty after the demolition of multiple condemned buildings The Gem Theater, once a center of life here, sits dormant in decay,
Despite more than $300,000 in funding poured into its renovation in the 1990s. Cairo Sumner High School, a segregated high school for African-American students until its closure in 1967, later became the home of a community development organization, but ironically they too seem to have abandoned it. A few blocks away is the
Garrison School, closed since at least 2008 according to this photo I found on the internet. Seeing it in person made it clear how much degradation had occurred over the past 15 years. At some point during that window of time someone evidently fired a few shots through the school’s window:
A longstanding American tradition. But perhaps most surprisingly, in a town that certainly has no shortage of empty homes, is that there’s a housing shortage. The state government is planning the demolition of old public housing projects many residents call home, without plans for a replacement, and a large portion
Of the buildings in Cairo are simply not suitable for living in their current state. Even though Cairo is located in the middle of wheat fields, the few people left here have to cope with the reality of living in a food desert. In recent years there’s been really just one option
For buying food products, without having to leave city limits: Dollar General. It’s a chain of dollar stores which ranks among the most profitable companies in the United States. Dollar General and its main competitors, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, operate more than 36,000 stores across the US, five times
As many as Walmart and Target put together. In affluent areas like Manhattan or Palo Alto, these dollar stores don’t exist, because they specifically target economically depressed markets. Usually, rural areas or in the ghettos of big cities, where which lack traditional grocery stores and consumers are more price-conscious. One would think that dollar stores
Help support the communities where they operate, but in fact they seem to have the opposite effect. They mainly sell processed foods, which contribute to obesity and other health problems. They pay minimum wages and direct money away from the neighborhoods that need it most. They often become centers of criminal activity
Due to the high rates in their surrounding areas and the lack of adequate security measures. And as seen in Cairo, they lead to the closure of the independent shops that form the backbone of a community. While taking these shots, I felt like I was in an episode of Scooby Doo, because
I ran into countless spiderwebs just by walking down the sidewalk. But even amidst so much decay, Cairo has a magical atmosphere It was almost as if I had traveled back in time to the 1950s, when it was still believed that this place had the potential to become something more.
In fact, perhaps that’s the reason why abandoned buildings fascinate me so much. Yes, it’s true that we can learn about the past through well-curated photos and museums, but the only way to experience the world in the way our ancestors experienced it is to visit their physical spaces and see how they left them.
I love observing all the tiny details on these buildings and imagining the people who created them. I love imagining all the memories that were made inside, now forgotten by all but the buildings themselves. I would have liked to end this video by sharing the hopes of a rebirth,
But in the end I don’t think things are that simple. In 2010, a group of students painted this mural to bring the village back to life, but at the time of my visit it was already neglected and overgrown. In 2023, a new independent grocery store opened to end the food desert.
But just a few months later, managers are seeing fewer customers than expected. The reviews on Google raved about this barbecue restaurant, the only one left in the city. However, when I went for dinner at 7, it was already closed. And most recently, the state government has allocated $40 million to
Rehabilitate the port of Cairo. But from everything else I’ve seen, I fear it’s already too late to really change the situation here. Regardless, there remains a loyal group of supporters, both near and afar, determined to create a brighter future for the city. In the early days of the social network
Reddit there was a movement with international support, although admittedly never successful, to repopulate and modernize Cairo. In my research I also discovered Monica, a young resident of Cairo, who recently bought a historic villa. On her Facebook page, she showcases the restoration process, as well as her life in Cairo, with the hope
Of inspiring others to follow in her footsteps. Admittedly, I’m too attached to the constant movement found in urban centers to consider putting down roots in a small town without even 2,000 inhabitants. At the same time, life in a place like this,
With its own character, seems much more attractive to me than in one of those typical American suburbs where the houses are all identical, as if they were formed in a mold. Despite its current condition, forgotten in a remote corner of the world, Cairo was not always like this. For a brief
Chapter in history, this little town was on the verge of reclaiming its place among America’s greatest cities. It was a muse for the greatest writers of the English-speaking world, a vital port city for the commerce that built America. Until one day–well, I suppose you could put all the blame on racism–
But in reality, there isn’t a simple explanation for why Cairo never became the metropolis it was supposed to be. Instead of having suffered a decisive blow, like Pripyat after the Chernobyl disaster, Cairo’s was more of a Chinese lingchi, a death by a thousand cuts. A set of wrong turns, misfortunes, and missteps
Piled up one on top of the other, until the Cairo that was…was no longer. I think that our lives are kind of the same way. We are shaped by every little thing we experience. A single victory does not make you a victor, but neither does a single failure.
And if there’s one thing we can learn from this little town in southern Illinois, it’s that fate is never assured Not even for Cairo itself. Who knows how things will end here…
Siccome mi hanno affascinato da sempre gli edifici abbandonati ho deciso di visitare Cairo, una famigerata città fantasma nell’Illinois (lo stato di Chicago). Tante città morenti ed altri luoghi abbandonati negli Stati Uniti possono vantarsi di esser passati tra periodi di forte crescita. Ma nessun’altra città fantasma ha avuto un significato geografico ed economico così grande quanto Cairo. Per questo, e’ forse la città fantasma più strana di tutta l’America.
Vita e morte di una dimenticata metropoli nel cuore dell’America:
0:00 you’re bound to like it, Cairo
0:38 una metropoli diventata GHOST TOWN
2:08 sono un vampiro immortale
2:49 su chicago non ci si può cagare
3:09 l’america rurale vs l’america urbana
3:56 piccolo Connor, allievo di geografia americana (e sciroppo)
4:47 la spina dorsale degli usa (in forma liquida)
5:38 Impero romano nell’Illinois? Ammazza, ma che stai a di’?
6:19 l’arma più potente degli Stati Uniti: un fiume
7:10 la capitale sul Mississippi
7:47 svagandosi con Steamboat Willie
8:45 boom economico
8:56 un presidente e un generale entrano in un bar
9:15 la città fantasma più strana del mondo
10:03 più economico che un posto auto a NYC
10:16 Charles Dickens ce l’aveva proprio con questa città
11:30 “Non avere paura giuro amore sono qui a difenderti” -Mark Twain
11:54 ferrovia sotterranea (meglio della Metropolitana di Milano)
12:08 se Il grande Gatsby fosse ambientato al Sud…
12:27 facciamo ape’ a Cairo?
12:47 la fiorente città viene potata
13:51 tuo zio ubriaco e’ arrivato al cenone di Natale
15:12 un’atmosfera indescrivibilmente meridionale
16:20 la lotta per i diritti civili
17:40 rimasto senza benzina (l’incubo dei trapper)
18:33 tipico passatempo americano
19:18 peggio di Walmart
20:54 meno male c’è il barbecue
22:01 un fedelissimo gruppo di sostenitori
23:34 la città dimenticata
24:56 una nuova speranza?
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DA UN’OCCHIATA AI MIEI ALTRI VIDEO:
attraverso l’italia solo con mezzi pubblici (un americano in italia) → https://youtu.be/fuhGxDFpoQQ
COME HO IMPARATO L’ITALIANO DA AMERICANO – LA MIA STORIA POLIGLOTTA → https://youtu.be/6QogqUdj3-M
SHOCKS ITALIANI per uno studente AMERICANO → https://youtu.be/tGStRGk8_pw
Colonna sonora:
Billy Murray – When You Drop Off At Cairo, Illinois (1916)
Musica da Artlist:
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Fonti ed altri link interessanti:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089554936294
https://www.cyburbia.org/forums/threads/cairo-civil-rights-era-photos-1967-73.36105/
Mappa di Cairo, Illinois al suo apice:
https://zoom.it/KaOo#full
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