Cairo, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Cairo is a city located in Alexander County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 3,632. It is the county seat of Alexander County. The city's name is pronounced differently from the English name for the Egyptian city of the same name: IPA /ˈkeɪɹoʊ/CARE-oe listen.
Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Ohio River; it is the southernmost town in the state of Illinois. Cairo is one of the few towns in Illinois protected by a levee. The rivers converge at what is the southernmost point in Illinois at Fort Defiance Park, a Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant. Cairo was founded in 1818 and incorporated as a city in 1858. It was an important steamboat port in the nineteenth century; Cairo even had its own Customs House, which has since been converted into a museum. The town has a number of fine examples of prosperous nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century architecture -- much of it abandoned and in a bad state of decay. The population of Cairo has been in decline every decade since the 1920s—in 1920: 15,203; in 1940: 14,407; 1950: 12,123. At the Cairo High School graduation in 1990, the school principal advised the graduating class to leave town, as Cairo had nothing to offer them.
In 1969, Cairo, the only segregated town in the state of Illinois, was the site of an intense civil rights struggle. The threat of violence resulted in the National Guard being called in to restore order. White-owned businesses were boycotted in an effort of protest led by the United Front civil rights organization. Despite the eventual desegregation of the town, racial tension was only partially resolved and remains a source of contention within the town.
Cairo today faces a number of serious issues, including poverty, teenage pregnancy, education, a lack of jobs, and poor access to health services. The 2004 closing of the last major industry, a plant manufacturing foam padding for automobile seats, has intensified concerns about Cairo's future. If the population continues to decline at its current rate, the city will become abandoned by 2020.
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Geography
Cairo is located at 37°0'47" North, 89°10'49" West (37.013144, -89.180345) (see Geographic references)1. The elevation above sea level is 315 feet (96 m).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.6 km² (9.1 mi²), including 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²) of water (22.78 % of the total area).
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 3,632 people, 1,561 households, and 900 families residing in the city. The population density is 198.9/km² (515.1/mi²). There are 1,885 housing units at an average density of 103.2 per km² (267.3 per mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 35.93 % White, 61.70 % Black or African American, 0.08 % Native American, 0.72 % Asian, 0.03 % Pacific Islander, 0.36 % from other races, and 1.18 % from two or more races; 0.74 % of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,561 households out of which 30.4 % have children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.3 % are married couples living together, 25.2 % have a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3 % are non-families. Of all households, 39.7 % are made up of individuals and 17.6 % have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 3.08.
The age distribution is 30.4 % under the age of 18, 8.1 % from 18 to 24, 22.0 % from 25 to 44, 21.6 % from 45 to 64, and 17.9 % 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 70.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $21,607, and the median income for a family is $28,242. Males have a median income of $28,798 versus $18,125 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,220. Of the population as a whole, 33.5 % lives below the poverty line, as compared with 27.1 % of families. Out of the total population, 47.0 % of those under the age of 18 and 20.9 % of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
See also
External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth
