America's Fastest Disappearing City: Cairo, Illinois (Aug2023)
Located 345 miles from Chicago the city of Cairo is the southernmost city in Illinois and the seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
The Cairo Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Old Customs House is also on the NRHP. The city is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO–IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Cairo was booming with commerce from the time of the Civil War until the 1920s. It was a bustling banking center, railroad hub, steamboat hub and a popular location for crossing the two rivers via ferry. The Completion of several bridges around the turn of the century eliminated the need for river ferries. Cairo has been in decline since the 1920s. Adding to the city's ills were deep-seated racial tensions, changing motorist routing and two major floods (1937 & 2011). The city has lost 90% of its peak, 1920 population of 15,000. Today fewer than 1700 people live in Cairo.
Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com
License code: ZGOGDAGP4HLBNZ8O