Before & After - Cairo, Illinois 4K
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Cairo, Illinois is a very historic town. It was once a place with incredible potential but due to decline in river trade and terrible race relations, it is now a town that has become more and more abandoned over the years. Music by @shaunmatthew6851 #cairoillinois #cairo #history
Great video, as always, Morgan. It is sad when a town withers away. The movie on the marque at the Gem came out in 1951 so you had the timing correct. I love to read old postcards and the one you chose for the tunnel scene left me wanting to know more of the back story! It was cool to 'visit' with your Grandmother! Are you in any of the photos on the wall or table?
thanks for looking that up! that makes sense why it wasnt on that postcard. i looked all over for the theater on that old postcard haha. and yes im in my football uniform as a kid. you can see part of me on the top left.
THREADS
I was born in that hospital in 1957. Used to be Saint Mary’s. I haven’t lived there since I was 8. I have many good memories of Cairo growing up. My family had a coal and trucking business there. Very sad about the town but I’m still proud to be from there. Glad to hear they got a grocery store. Hopefully someday the town will make a comeback.
Prayers 🙏.....(Cairo) hopefully someday the town will make a ( Difference) comeback.,.... prayers 🙏.
THREADS
I remember driving through Cairo in 1975 before I 57 was built on the way to Alabama. My friend and I stopped at a store to buy some food there and the people there had a southern drawl. It is a shame what happened to that town. I appreciated watching your grandmother reminisce about her childhood and that she and her friends were very serious about their education.
Thanks for the touching comment.
My fathers family lived there in the depression era , and most of his family lived there. They left in the 50’s, my great grandfather worked on the Central Illinois Railroad! They all lived together in a 2 story house. They loved it there, my grandma married a man from Carbondale, and her sister married a man from Mounds. Their names were James L and Lula Johnson, and Paul Harbolt, Carl Eicher. I heard about it my whole childhood!
This was so very well done. I learned more about Cairo from this one video of yours than all the others combined about Cairo here on YT.👍 I live a few hours north in Illinois... Champaign Urbana. You did a wonderful job, so glad I watched this.
Thank you so much. Im very glad you enjoyed my video and took the time to comment. I love making these videos just by themselves but it does make it all so much better when people appreciate them.
Really well done video. I have driven through the town several times and I have watched A number of TH-cam videos on it. Yours is outstanding.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the feedback and glad you enjoyed it. It takes a lot of time to make these videos.
Great documentary. Driving from Georgia to Colorado in 2021, I swerved left at Paducah to see Cairo, the town of Twain and Grant. Shocked to see what a ghost town it appeared to be. I told a friend it is the saddest town in America. It is cool to stand on the point that is the Ohio on the left and the Mississippi on the right.
It really is. I drove through it on my way to Nashville from cape Girardeau. I was with a friend from Nevada so he was just seeing it for the first time and it was a similar reaction. I made sure to stand at the southern point too! I the if it that was very neat. And on the drone shot you can see the two different colors of each river. I thought that was neat.
@LifeinCapeGirardeau Driving north to Cape Girardeau in the hot, humid summer, the rivers loom, hidden behind trees and levees. A spooky, remote feeling, like it was in Louisiana or Mississippi in the cotton south, decades ago.
I made the reverse trip in 2021: Colorado to Georgia. My nephew and I stopped there for several hours and couldn’t believe what we saw. (Sidebar: he’s convinced the Kentucky border runs through the eastern edge of town-and Google maps confirms this.)
Very good video about Cairo. I attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale during my collegiate days from 1988 to 1992. During my four years at SIU, I was easily in Cairo at least once a week, it being only 50 miles south of Carbondale, as I was dating a girl who lived by St. Mary's Park in the town. (She was a classmate of mine at SIU) Cairo at that time was maybe 2 and a half times larger in population of what it is today. I recall it having around 4200 residents in early 1988. At least the road signs on US 51 planted on both ends of the town said that. There were two full-service grocery stores then, (Wonder Market and Piggly Wiggly), a Sonic Drive-in, a KFC, a bank, Elias Brothers variety store (similar to a small Walmart), Amtrak and Greyhound service, Harper's and Mack's restaurants, and a couple independent pharmacies. The general area around the Magnolia Manor and Riverlore mansions on Washington Avenue reminded me more of St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans than a place in an Illinois river city. One could pretty much obtain the basic living needs (and more) in Cairo during my college days, without having to drive to Cape Girardeau or Anna. I personally haven't been in Cairo since I graduated in 1992, though I am fully aware of how it exists today. I've seen several recent videos on You Tube documenting the current state of Cairo, and it is saddening for me to see, due to my connection to it. Cairo wasn't the grand place it could have been during my college years, but it was never as desolate then as it is now. It does give me some hope to see that a grocery store did open in 2023. I wish for better times for Cairo. If it could ever turn itself around, and take advantage of its central location and its location at the confluence of two major rivers, along with its weather more resembling of the Deep South than what most think of what Illinois' weather can be, it might finally return to being a place people will want to invest in once again.
I used to drive through Cairo on regular basis. Such a sadness there. However, I still think that there is hope still that it could raised from the ashes and thrive once again if circumstances were changed.
It's easy to forget that Illinois stretches really far south! I would say Cairo is much more a Southern town despite being in Illinois.
Southern Illinois is culturally northern Kentucky.
Awesome stuff! I have always been fascinated by Cairo Illinois. Great to see others who have an interest in geography/history.
Very interesting video and great interview with your lovey Mother. Thanks to you both.
Thank you for the comment.
My sister was born there and I was raised there. My grandmother had miladys beauty shop in her home. I still love Cairo to this day.
My mother and a lot of her family are from Cairo. Been there many times. Haven't been back in almost a decade now. Sad to see it in this state..... Many fond memories of visiting there as a kid.
Solid presentation. Thank you.
Cairo is an example of a city where you get what you ask for. Now, we know the political narrative that racism destroyed Cairo. No, people moved away from the riots, and they moved away en masse. In certain areas or certain cities, this could be a slow trickle like Detroit, where in the 60s, pretty much people slowly, slowly left. And then once we get into the 70s, it gained momentum, and by the 80s, everyone's getting out of town. Now, Cairo, Cairo is one of those cities where it was more or less a big town. It didn't have much going for it in terms of size, so people could more easily leave. In Illinois, we have many other towns like this, but not as bad as Cairo. We all sit down and talk about how it was so bad that people had left, but this is again what happens when you have black people rioting, making excuses, and there's no solution to tackle the actual problem. And of course, we're seeing this in many other cities and towns. We're currently seeing this in cities like Portland, where very quickly, the city is being abandoned. Stores are leaving. I mean, why are you going to want to stay in a city or a town that allows looting? And people don't realize this, but history repeats itself. Here in Chicago, I live in the ghetto. I've lived in the South Side ghetto. I live on the West Side ghetto. When there was a white flight, my family didn't move. And one thing that shocks people when they do come into these areas, especially 20 years ago before Walmart and Target came into the picture, was most of the industries are really stores. Even mom and pop stores closed down because of the massive looting and crime, violent crime. You can't go to a McDonald's, a White Castle, or even a KFC without seeing bulletproof glass. And then, you can't just simply grab your food from the other person. No, it's a rolling window where they actually have to roll your food through another bulletproof glass so no one can stick their hand in. But yet, we do nothing about the problem. Now, 20 years ago, Walmart and Target made their way into Chicago, into these areas, and for 20 years, they made no profit because of the massive looting and rioting. I mean, some of the workers, for example, in the Chatham area, made videos showing students after getting out of school just completely rioting and taking and looting, and then were shocked that all these Walmarts and Targets have closed down in these areas. People keep saying, well, you have insurance. Okay, so the insurance rates are going to go up, and eventually, insurers are going to not cover you. For example, in California now, you're seeing big insurance carriers leaving the state, or they're choosing not to cover new clients because of the rampant crime.
The people who currently still live there are not victims. They're the cause of the problem. And acting like victims and pretending to be victims, they're not doing anything. Honestly, I hope everyone in Cairo can stay in Cairo. Because if they were to bulldoze the town, all that's going to do is they're going to end up moving them freely into other areas in Illinois. And they will destroy that area too. And sadly, there are going to be people who don't move because their parents are tolerant, like my parents. And then those children, like me, will have to go through torture. Because hey, you're white. So we're going to go ahead and torture you, steal from you, and change your life for the worse. Why? Because of racism. And then, of course, all the people who flee in a white flight, those children, those teenagers who will become adults in the safety of their gated community will preach tolerance and tell people to stay. Yet, these are the same people who fled. And believe me, the moment someone comes into their gated community, they protest or they end up leaving and having a white flight. They're hypocrites.
What do you mean Black people rioting? The video literally explained that it was white people who rioted and caused most of the violence in the town. Race relations certainly didn't help the town be livable, but it was the decline of industry that led to its demise.
So you're saying Cairo never became Wakanda?
Vote republican
The problem in Cairo was institutional segregation that disenfranchised the blacks to sustain white supremacy. When the large black population of the town had little opportunities for work due to being shut out of them by the white businesses so that white people could have those jobs all because of the color of their skin instead of merit, while the police was disproportionately goign to side with the white people over blacks, the decline in economic opportunities disproportionately hurt the black people more, and left them with very little prospects for a future compared to the whites within the city acting as the perfect fuel, which the killing of a black man by a white mob would spark.
The black people wanted equal opportunity and representation, instead of being shut out despite making up almost half of the city's population, while the whites unwilling to give up their position of supremacy weren't willing to compromise to find peace. When people want change and you make peaceful means of achieving it impossible, the only outcome is violence, whether it is blacks rioting against segregation, or people believing in the right to have a say in their own fate taking up arms against a regime which denies it.
Constant reminders of the past's injustices are a good way to keep people mired in the past as grievances and grudges do nothing to help prevent future conflict. Cairo is a great example of how that works...and doesn't.
Should we not learn about that past? Or just talk about it a little bit as long as it’s not “constant”?
Wow! You have the best documentary about Cairo. My parents, grandparents, and great grandparents are from there. It used to be a lot of fun as a kid going there exploring the town and hanging out at the park. I remember them telling me to watch out for those water moccasins. They had some huge beautiful mansions there too.
I've passed through the city since the 60's. I watched change over the years. It was a thriving city in the 70's.
Great video. I was born in Cape Girardeau Missouri but lived in the rural area outside of Cairo Illinois. I attended Head Start in Cairo, attended social functions & church services with family and friends in Cairo. I worked in the Cairo area and enjoyed every moment. I still have MANY friends and relatives in the area. Even though I moved away 20 years ago there's a special place in my heart for Cairo and the surrounding area. 💙
Thank you for posting this video 😊
Thanks for sharing your story. Im also from Cape. And youre very welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.
1999 -- 2003, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. Home-- Quad Cities, Illinois [Pop. 450,000]-- Colona, Illinois [Pop. 5,500]
You did an incredible job aligning the old and new photos.
You should interview my Mom. She grew up around the same time of your grandmother. As a kid we moved from Cairo in 1970. I'm 55 now.
Whats her name?
You did an outstanding job on this video.
Thank you so much!
Great video thank you very much. Your grandmother seems very wise.
This video is awesome and very informative, I always wondered what happened
thanks for coming with me to cairo hahah
I heard the haunting David Ackles song "Road to Cairo" back in 1968 and never knew it was about this town.
Driven that place hundreds of time but flood waters and the industry that didn't want Ciaro to survive four great rivers but man hasn't ever
brought life back to that part of the river .
I loved this video about the history of Cairo and the interview with Mary was fantastic. It's so nice to see and hear a Cairo native tell about her experiences growing up there. The history of Cairo definitely needs to be told. I always hated the main reasons for its decline. So sad. Yet, it would be wonderful if it could survive and even thrive again--and going forward, I would certainly hope the racial problems the Black population faced (or still faces) could be eliminated.
It is a shame that they just didn’t let the city flood in 2011. Instead they flooded out hard working farmers further south. And it was the same time that someone was trying to burn the damn city down one building at a time. And I disagree, some history should just be erased and Cairo is a great example.
I did feel sympathy for those farmers that took the blunt of the force. I’m not sure what all options they had to alleviate the flood but wish they didn’t have to do that.
This Town is the saddest town to drive through you just dont feel safe it is a very finny feeling when you go there at one time it had traffic light they removed all of them no reason to stop
It's still safe when you compare it to any other town.
an ancestor in the 122 nd of Illinois died in the hospital there of a sickness in the civil war. great summary!
Hey great video I was born in 1947 at the then saint Mary's hospital this video is very good lived right behind s h e m w e l l s barbecue my dad owned Mobil gas station right a cross the street I had many friends in Cairo later at mound city so sad to see all buildings torn down, we left Cairo in 1962 moved to bay area in northern California in San Lorenzo, I just wish I knew where some of my friends were its been s o long, anyway your video was very good thanks
Oh yes, Ive become very familiar with shemwells. I understand its a staple in Cairo and is still operating today. Everyone from Cairo always mentions it, including my grandmother.
Very well done.
at 2:18, I see a 1950 ford, and the movie "I'll see you in my dreams" on the theatre marquee. That movie was released in 1951. That pretty much dates the photo.
I was thinking the same thing.
Wow!very informative!
Appreciate it man! Thanks for the music. I`ll tag you in the description now that I know your TH-cam username
always thought this place was super interesting, wish i could visit
Drove trough Cairo last year when returning from Columbus Ohio and we could tell that it was a thriving city at some time. I went through training in the Navy at the Naval Training center at Memphis in 1966 & 67 and remember hearing stories from recruits that went through basic at Great Lakes about being warned to avoid Cairo if they were driving from the Chicago area to Memphis. I went through basic at San Diego and traveled to Memphis by way of bus and came from the west. Was it that dangerous in the mid to late 60s? Like the video, thanks for the information.
In the sixties there was race riots.
Cairo's darkest day is always tomorrow. It is like Brendan Fraser in the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth: "We're still falling!" When you think it can't get worse, it does.
I find this video very educational and a very saucy
i appreciate the support
Thank you, Morgan.
Thank you for time and feedback
Interestingly the streetlamps are still there. Still just standing around.
I was born in the small town in Missouri that was just a few miles from Cairo , Wyatt mo in 1957
Very nice. It's a fantastic place , but it forgothen
Is there any update on the government stepping in to add a lot of jobs by reopening a port?
Great video
Thank you!
This is a good video and was positive you didnt talk about Anna Illinois and the two city negative history
I would like to someday to a video about Anna and learn about it. I know very little about it as of today.
@@LifeinCapeGirardeau Anna not as bad as it made out to be it definitely has a better history than Cairo it still a functioning place to live.
Thanks for pronouncing the name Cairo correctly
Just found your video. I have an ambitious project and I really want Cairo to be the place for the Project. I gave you a like a sub. Do you have anymore content on Cairo?
Thank you so much. Im really curious what your project on Cairo is. And no i dont unfortunately. Ive been doing a series of historical videos in southeast missouri and southern illinois and Cairo was only this individual video. I did watch a documentary i found online about the town though. it was very well done. Ill post a link.
th-cam.com/video/Ita42KgBY-8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=k2Vr3rKhzNUmjUXc
Personally i think this video gave cairo Illinois justice, ive been to many small towns and this is the most depressing right above Gallup New Mexico 😂
It's pronounce like the Egyptian City it was named after,, because of a location on the river But after the race riot's with police department to protect the business owners from the looting. Lawlessness was the order of the day, , ‼️ the Cartels moved in and Everyone left, ‼️
Respectfully, you should get an editor to review your scripts. The pacing is a bit slow, also. Good video overall, though. I’d give it a B+.
Failed to mention the economic hardhips caused by the state of Illinois having high taxes, elevated insurance premiums. Significantly cheaper to do business in bordering states. Businesses started moving out in the 1950's. When the business leaves the community doesn't really realize it until taxes are due and no one to pay them. The community has preobably already spent then money before the taxes were due. This same kind of decline has happened to all Illinois border cities.
Thanks for sharing. I love learning about history of the region. Thats why I started this project. And that does make sense. I actually see a lot of similarities in towns all over southern Illinois. Not just Cairo.
Stop with all the bs. Grow up
I'm sure that some of the people in the lynch mob are still living, and never every single one should be prosecuted! Disgusting
Cairo, Georgia:🥰
Cairo, Illinois:☠
Just cruised through. Counted about 8 churches and 6 of them were destroyed. What a S-hole town
Racism is absolutely the biggest challenge facing America today along with the rise of fascism in the Republican Party.
This is some racist bs hate that town
Bring in the migrants over there let them set up shop, open up business and give them a opportunity
Israel also claims ownership of the Holy land when it belongs to Jesus Christ.
I mean Jerusalem has gone thru so many hands over many centuries, from babylonia, the Christian king Baldwin the 4th,the Muslim general Saladin also claimed it etc. I just don't get the point your trying to make 😅
We call it Karo
brain drain
noun
the situation in which large numbers of educated and very skilled people leave their own country to live and work in another one where pay and conditions are better:
Blacks live there no hope u have to work for a living
Care-oh
There are 2 correct answers. 1. Care-oh if you're white and 2. Kay-row if you're black. Please respect the people that live there.
This is what happens to democrat towns.
Politics always enters some people's thoughts.
Always the race stuff: can't give it a break for a minute, can you?
If you prefer a video that's all sunshine and rainbows, you have the freedom to make one yourself. I find it interesting when people like yourself have a like for history but get triggered when an unpleasant truth comes up. It messes your world view up. What would be the point of making a historical video of a town that was viscously impacted by race relations...and not tell about that history? And this is the only video in this mini series where I mentioned race so I guess youre just assuming I bring this up often? Anyways, thanks for the comment and the dislike. It promotes activity for this video on TH-cams algorithm.
This video isn’t even a race bait. This is just objectively a huge part of what happened to Cairo. This was in the 1909 and 1960s as if race relations were known for being great at those times…. If he were race baiting he wouldn’t of even mentioned the white guy that was killed the same night as that fact would not have been relevant to what you assume his “agenda” is.
@@LifeinCapeGirardeauExcellent response to that jerk.
Cairo declined because it lost its tax base, which tired of supporting criminally inclined freeloaders. But beating the racial grievance drum spares their feelings.
This is a place they need to Exile criminals in Chicago and those who do moving and financial crimes and they should be forced to live in Cairo for 34 years before being allowed to come back to the relatives in Chicago
Nope, leave that trash in Chicago. Cairo is definitely a POS city, but no one in the surrounding area wants more trash being brought in.