Page Contents for Cairo, Illinois

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Government

Chamber of Commerce.

Libraries.

Schools.

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Illinois state capital is Springfield.
The population of Cairo is approximately 3,632 (2000), 2831 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 1,885 (2000), 1268 (2010).
The amount of land area in Cairo is 18.3 sq. kilometers.
The amount of land area in Cairo is 9.1 sq. miles.
The amount of surface water is 5.385 sq kilometers.
The distance from Cairo to Washington DC is 702 miles.
The distance to the Illinois state capital is 193 miles. (as the crow flies)
Cairo is positioned 36.99 degrees north of the equator and 89.17 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Cairo per capita income is $ 16,220.
Cairo median income is $ 28,242.
Cairo average annual rainfall is 45.2 inches per year
Cairo average annual snowfall is 9.0 inches per year.
The average winter temperature is 33 degrees F.
The average summer temperature is 81 degrees F.

Location

at the tip end of southern Illinois bordering the states of Kentucky and Missouri, where the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers meet
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History & History Related Items

When a treaty was signed on 25 September 1818 with the Kaskaskia and Peoria Tribes, the city was then established. Meriwether Lewis was the signer of the treaty for the government.

The name was chosen, in part, because of the similarity of the geography to that of Cairo, Egypt. Cairo is not pronounced like the Egyptian city, however. It is pronounced "care-oh."

The Civil War in Cairo. In 1861, during the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant was headquartered here. It was also the setting for the fictional town of Eden in "Martin Chuzzlewit" by Charles Dickens.
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The founding of Cairo

1818

Attractions

City Song: "When You Stop Off in Cairo -- Illinois"

Ft. Defiance Park and the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
On Route 51
Phone: 618-734-2737

U.S. Custom House Museum/Romanesque architecture/1872
St. Patrick Catholic Church/Romanesque architecture/1894
Safford Memorial Library/Queen Anne architecture/1883
The Hewer/Sculpted by George Grey Barnard/1906
St. Mary's Park Pavilion/Cairo's memorial for U.S. Centennial/1876
Magnolia Manor/Italianate architecture/1869. Victorian home open for tours. Many original furnishings. Site of visit of retired President U.S. Grant
Church of the Redeemer Episcopal Church/1886
Cairo Baptist Church/1880
Horseshoe Lake/10 miles N.W. of Cairo on Rt. 3, a wetlands area

Here is a page with information about Cairo
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Cairo City Government

Cairo Mayor's Office
1501 Washington Ave
Cairo, IL 62914-1811
Phone: 618-734-0177

Cairo is the county seat of Alexander County.

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COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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Alexander County Courthouse
2000 washington Avenue
Cairo, Illinois 62914
Phone: 618-734-3947

Cairo Chamber

Cairo Chamber Of Commerce
222 8th St
Cairo, IL 62914-2135
Phone: 618-734-2737

Cairo Organizations

Cairo Chamber Of Commerce
222 8th St
Cairo, IL 62914-2135
Phone: 618-734-2737

Cairo Libraries

Cairo Public Library
1609 Washington Ave
Cairo, IL 62914-1862
Phone: 618-734-1840

Cairo Schools

Cairo Unit School District 1
303 34th St
Cairo, IL 62914-1104
Phone: 618-734-4102

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HIGHER EDUCATION

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Shawnee College Cairo Center
1615 Commercial Ave
Cairo, IL 62914-1914
Phone: 618-734-3660 Cairo

Miscellany

The population of Cairo was:
1980 - 6,126
1990 - 4,846
1995 - 4,568
1998 - 4,217
2000 - 3,632
The 1990 and 2000 figures are from US Census data. All other figures are from other sources.

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Cairo is located in the Central Time Zone.