I love how optimistic the gent near the beginning is. He sees potential for Cairo and how it could be a wonderful place to raise children. Will our future generation be the ones to breathe life back into this beautiful town?
I don't think I had seen this all the way through. Having grown up in Cairo, a young child during the civil rights movement, this really strikes a chord with me. I love that Wilma and Lee Carter were in this--she just recently passed away and I didn't get a chance to go home for my annual fall trip. And of course, love seeing my dad, Bill Harrell, and the old Woods house he and my mom have worked so hard to preserve--just feet from the corner lot of 17th and Poplar where I lived the first couple of years of my life. I have moved to many places in my adult life, but the 'Ro will always be home! Thank you!
Would you go back and live there now is the question? Raise a family? No, you, just like your dad are stuck in the past of Cairo, what it was. Your dad still buying up all those dilapidated properties and still paying Johnny to "fix" them up?
@@TheHickoryHideaway Actually, my mother passed away 2 years ago and I moved back to help my aging father. I now live in that house featured in the film. I’m also involved volunteering for various service organizations in town. There are many good people still there, including family and friends. It’s not what it used to be and that’s just fine with me. Not sure what your need is to bash it. Are you unhappy in your life and need to spread your misery around? Did you ever live there? What is fucking wrong with you? Get a life!
i have lived in Carbondale my whole life. Only in the past week have I finally explored Cairo and done much photography. It's astonishing the number of buildings in this documentary no longer there. Its population is about 1500 now and the majority of those vested in the town are elderly. The area has charmed me, but I'm worried abou the future of town staples, inclulding the library and Customs House. On a positive note, some people have moved in and purchased several of the historic mansions and are restoring them. The city's sewer system is being updated, and they opened their first grocery store in 7 years. Hope exists.
What's the use of having a library if the residents can't go in? It was easier to get a library card in a city with multimillion collection, than Cairo. Cairo is still racist as ever. All white people save for one or two work at Bungee. No way in the world Black people could get money in a town and not contribute to the city. They're building a new road to bungee. I guess the white people got tired of driving past Black people. No one Black works at the utility company, save a few tokens. Same with the DG outside of town. Cairo is still ran by the same racist money hungry grubbs of the pass. They put a token up there and call it progress. The port will never open, because they don't want to hire Black people. Nothing has changed. Small towns all over America are just like Cairo. Change meth to weed, fentanyl to crack. Same difference, just fewer deaths.
I stopped here to find a bathroom omw to St. Louis. I was just in awe of what I saw. The empty shell of what looked like a place tgat was once alive just drew me in, intrigued me, and I could not stop thinking abt this place ever since. That was over a decade ago. It's sad, yet so mesmerizing.
Cairo BBQ sauce! I’ll never forget it. My dad was born and raised in the area and then moved to Chicago area as a young man. We always bought Cairo BBQ sauce when we would go “down home” to take back to Chicago.
I did the same exact thing as I'm from TN. My wife and I took a random road trip for the weekend (just recently) to go find Shawnee Forest in Illinois but my GPS led me a bit astray and I wound up in Cairo. We were amazed too, but at the same time, it depressed us that an American town got into such a dilapidated condition. The first thing I told her was 'you could film an episode of the Walking Dead here.' It really shook us to our core so we turned around and spent the rest of the weekend in Cape Girardeau, MO.
Thanks so much for this. My grandmother was from here before moving up to east chicago in the early 1900s. İ never knew anything about it. This is really well done in every respect
I drove a truck in the mid 70s through Cairo before the I 57 bridge was built. I could tell when I would go through the town was on a downward spiral but I always loved the town. I loved crossing the old Ohio River and Mississippi river brdges and going through the town and always stopping at the Wyatt Junction trucks stop over the state line in Missouri. Great Memories!!
While my father served his second tour in Viet Nam 1968. We lived in Cairo, my mother's birthplace. I remember all the conflict in the town of that time.I also worked at the hospital, Southern Medical Ctr, till it closed Jan1, 1987. The town officials drove the town into ruin. There are a lot of good folks still living there!
There is a reference to Cairo in Huckleberry Finn. When I read it as a kid I couldn't figure out what Cairo Egypt had to do with Jim and Huck's river trip.
I always thought one of the most interesting things about Cairo is that it's the same distance from Birmingham, Little Rock, Chattanooga, Jackson, Atlanta, and Memphis than it is from Chicago. It's still in Illinois, but most definitely a part of the South.
@Donnell Okafor Thank you for your personal comment. My grandmother died in 1969. It was a black-on-white crime during the peak era of interracial strife. Dad said that the town never fostered upward mobility; if someone (regardless of race) wanted to make something of himself, he had to leave. Dad saw this attitude as early as the 1930s. A cousin who lived in town until her death in 1990 explained that more generous welfare benefits in Illinois versus Kentucky or Missouri contributed to the localized poverty. If you would like to know more, I'm open to talking 1:1, but my knowledge is largely secondhand.
@@OnkelPHMageebetter welfare was not the reason Cairo went down, it was multiple factors including most people in the so called government didn't and still doesn't know how to run and better a town even when they had some help. I know I lived there from 1957-1978 and it's much worse since I moved.
Crazy born and raised in Chicago, always past Cairo as I go to the south. Next time I come that way imma jump off the highway and visit the town. Nice documentary
Thank you. Great documentary! I drove thru Cairo for the 1st time yesterday. I have traveled throughout the US, North Africa, Mexico, and even Cuba during its great depression after the collapse of the USSR. What I saw in Cairo was the saddest place I have visited. At least Cuba had hope. The effects of white hat racism is a still present curse.
This is a very interesting story. But one thing caught my attention. Someone said there was a big influx of people to the area because Illinois had better welfare and care programs than other states. If people move to a certain area with intentions of doing nothing except of living off the state, what long term good can come of that? Excellent video!
I’ve been deeply fascinated by Cairo since we took a wrong turn on tour and drove past that iconic bridge, about 10 years ago. I don’t understand why people don’t want to build there or put businesses there out of fear of flooding, when there are numerous cities in flood planes, most notably NOLA. I wish a billionaire could see the potential of Cairo and make efforts to bring it back. It’s past is dark, but it doesn’t mean the future can’t be bright. I still have hope for Cairo, and I actually look forward to going back there as soon as I can.
East St Louis looks bad but not as bad as Cairo- and it is because of corruption by the so call politicians that people keep voting into office, but one thing I notice--there is no trash every where like it is in East St Louis
This is no where near like east saint louis. Washington park maybe but east saint louis is not deserted. Most abandoned houses have been torn down. You both must be passerby’s
Fascinating and tragic. I driven through Cairo several times a year for most of my life on trips. Each time I drive through I can just sense the history and pain that it must have seen. I always wish I could see it when it was different.
What a rich but twisted history that place has. Haven't ventured south to the US in 15 years but if I'm ever down that way maybe I'll do a side trip to Cairo.
I got lost and drove from Missouri to Cairo, Illinois to Kentucky.......all in about a mile. Interesting place but definitely would not want to live there from the looks of it
I was born in Metropolis, Illinois in 1950. I remember my father taking me to Cairo to meet some students he taught. I knew nothing of the problems that was such a part of this community. It is so sad.However this a part of the case system that was mentioned in this program. We really have a long way to go in these United States.😢
My grandpa lived in Watts, Ca from the time he was a little boy until he died at age of 87. He had a trucking company for decades. Watts has a horrible history, too. And continues to have poverty. However, since it's not as isolated at Cairo, there might be hope.
You got to be kidding, right? Watts is like Beverly Hills as far as infrastructure and housing go. Cairo even makes Gary, Indiana look like a well-run city. There is nothing there in Cairo, but what do you expect them to do? It is scary thinking about paying sky-high rent and overpriced utilities! U.S. GOVERNMENT, get off your asses and build some affordable Housing! If they don't act soon, there could be as many as ten million people homeless by 2035.
I visited Cairo in 1988, because I’d heard all about this uniquely situated city and wanted to see it. It was still intact, though signs of economic woes were present. There were plenty of businesses in the downtown, and a few people (it was winter). But the newer cities to the north had more commerce. The charming old buildings were lovely and had such a southern flavor.
I was born in Kentucky just across the river from Cairo in 1969. We had racism but nothing like this. My family had lots of black friends. My black wife was actually born in the old Cairo hospital in 1972. Kinda strange that just across the river from us that all this nonsense was happening. Just look what it got them all.
Been through Cairo twice when on cross country road trips, even spent a quiet overnight in our van at the park on the confluence one night and found the town fascinating although depressing. Had no idea about it’s history.
I stopped there for a few hours in Sept 2020. The BBQ place was really great. The churches across the street a beautiful. Walk any direction a couple of blocks and you'll see ornate old houses that are empty and rotting.
Seen this documentary loved it. Got it from mccracken co public library. ❤❤ explains alot and i never knew how long shemwells had been there :-) tbh everytime i see this 😭 makes me cry
I was diverted through here on the way to visit my family in Missouri. worst looking city i've ever driven through! so bad I was inspired to look it up and learn more!
When I was younger I used to go to Cairo ever Sunday night to the club 18,an I liked the turf club the man that owed it was ab ransom he was a very nice man treated me like a son I have some fond memories of Cairo,the best think the government could do for Cairo is to put it out of its misery is come in an just flating the whole town,are the next a big flood comes just let the town go back to the rivers that made it there’s nothing left there to save just let it go.gone but not forgotten R.I.P. CAIRO ⚰️⚰️
The town’s population peaked in 1920 and kept on declining steadily and really fell after the race riots happened. That was the final nail in the coffin for the town and lead to its eventual fate as it is today. Also, the town is very prone to flooding and because of that it hampered potential growth.
I am in my late 50,s. Been all over this country. The south, the north east, Pacific Northwest and I live in Texas now. Father retired from the Air Force in the mid 70s to a small town in Southern Illinois 30 miles or so north of Cairo. To this DAY my opinion has not changed when I say nothing comes close to the racism we experienced in Southern Illinois. Beautiful place. But what a hell hole.
I went here in 2004 on a church project from texas. I've always followed it since then. amazingly kind people and the BBQ is almost as great as the people! it had such a great location until the interstate system skipped it. SAD!!
I recently started watch "Cornelius Catfish Channel" here in UA-cam. He seemed like a cool guy and his family super nice. And all the places he found to fish I figured wherever he was might be a cool place to live. Took me a little while of stalking to track down where he lives...it's Cairo (I'm pretty sure). So I looked on Zillow...holy crap, some old Victorian homes and many extremely inexpensive homes. It's now on my list of possible next home locations. I like the idea of moving to some town that's so burned out that the bad people have left leaving mostly good people. I'll take a trip out there this summer to see if its for me.
They should make it like southern Florida build a big park with everything the land would hold because of the rivers and flooding. Zoo, casino, amusement park etc.
@Money mo I think it's a parallel for the state of this entire country and a cautionary tale for what the future could look like if we don't be careful
I’ve seen many documentaries where Cairo was booming back In the day. Many came there for factory jobs just like East saint Louis but sadly the race riots killed many and the factory jobs slowly moved away. That’s when poverty started in these rural cities but the land is very valuable and there are many that want it. I believe that’s why they allow so many murders to go unpunished. Let them wipe enough of us out and it’s easier to control the ones left.
Nature itself should tell you there is something seemingly dangerous of putting a town between two rivers. Potential flooding means you could get swallowed up by both!
There was a time when Cairo could have become a large metropolitan transportation hub with urban sprawl on all three sides (Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois) of the juncture. Too bad there was so much official mismanagement and lack of real law enforcement that had stolen the hopes of so many dreams.
A documentary like this makes me think about what happened to my grandma's town of Newton Falls Ohio which died out when the major manufacturers and various businesses left it because it was all about big money and corporate greed to wipe out the small town life. Then I look at the suburbia I've grown up in all of my life and watched how that quality has gone downhill as even areas like mine are taking hard hits from the same greed our regime has foisted on all of us by experimenting with lower income areas like this whose population is actually lower now than when this was made. America should have never given up our control to governments and politicians because most of our small towns now are a Cairo minus the racial tensions which were also politician and government induced.
The former congressman, Glen Poshard, is part of the problem. I read an article a few years ago, and it showed how Poshard strategically move from state job to state job to game the retirement system. It indicated that he is the highest paid retired state employee in all of Illinois. There is a real man of the people. He later took a job as president of Morthland College in West Frankfort, IL which turned out to be a scam and left taxpayers holding the bag for much of the college's infrastructure.
All those empty, vacant buildings and a growing homeless population, tragic. Hope the old buildings can be gutted, restored for good use. Waste not, want not. Perhaps a success story can come out tragedy. Young people can make an helpful impact.
Thar be catfish !! Huge Flathead and Blue cats, so many you can horse em in and stack em like firewood !!! The Cairo area has great fishing, not a lot of fishing pressure from other anglers, and great people. Lots of local folks are pleased to let ya pitch your camping tent in their yard or woods, and happy to get the small fee ya offer for the privilege of doing so. There's not alot of money floating around to be had in the area, so insted of catch & release it's good to give the familys you're staying by some 2 and 3 foot catfish. Joe Patton
You'd think a town that sits at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, would be a metropolitan hub for this nation. Instead it's a ghost town.
Born and raise here. The spirit of racism still in affect today 2021. For humans to hate other humans because of skin color and lies that is woven in the very fabric of USA is despicable. Race does not have a biologic definition but rather political and social one that is fluid and independent of science. Anthony Chambliss my classmate love you.
I live just a few miles North of Cairo , my grandmother was an RN at the old hospital. Shems' BBQ. is AMAZING! I can't wait to drop my restored jet boat at the confluence and enjoy a delicious BBQ! Cairo has a wonderful history and everyone should celebrate it!😊
This is one of many reasons I dislike politicians. Cairo still has a car dealership. Money and resources go to historical buildings. And certain houses inside a collapsing town. Pay attention to who lives well there 💯💯💯
@57:30 lmao! no way was he raping her! ahahaa! her husband just couldn't live with the fact, his wife was cheating on him with a black guy! lmfaoo! so he killed the black guy in a rage and the wife did nothing but lie with her husband. sheesh, you couldn't pay me a million dollars to visit that town. all different types of demons & spirits running through the entire town, as if they are still alive and don't KNOW that they are dead. smh gives me the creeps just thinking about it...
Don't matter what kind of color they were. They shouldn't have been in the house. I don't care what color they were, if I came in and seen that they wouldn't be leaving.
My friend and multiple Christians went there last weekend.. Poured anointing oil on a plumb-line and prayed over the city… My friend held the plumb-line and poured the oil… He told me that they felt a serious difference spiritually over the place from when they went in to after they prayed.. He told me all about the crossing eclipse and the statistical probability of that happening
Greg, I have had added to my policy since the day I closed on my home. But, do tell me, when will the next one happen? And, what does that have to do with 1. the video. 2. the 2 total eclipses occurring?
i was hoping this doc would tell the story of the town, how it began, the good times, the decline and all the rest. all they talked about was racism and civil rights?? there has always been racism in all towns, it sucks, we all know this. racism didnt kill the town, the town died because its in the miss delta, i wish they would have explained that better, how this region went from being one of the wealthiest to one of the poorest.
I was thinking the same thing. Also, tax rates in Illinois suck, so why would business come back here when they can set up shop in Indiana, Kentucky or Missouri.
Shift from river to Interstate transportation and businesses declining because folks were driving to Cape, Carbondale and Paducah to do their shopping/entertainment.
I know this post is old but wanted to chime in. It did explain it, albeit briefly. People heard that welfare was better there then elsewhere, then dumped in. Do you think the area is going to get economically wealthy when nothing but poor people pile in? Went downhill from there.
Nick, please update references in description for the movie .... what year filmed. Looks like filmed between 2008-2016 based on the fact that at 49:00 Obama is President.
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment?
People keep saying this town should disappear just because there isn't an official use for it. Have you ever been to Victorville, CA? And it keeps growing. No use whatsoever. Just a bunch of people on the side of the biggest desert in the States. Just ugly nothing, and mean people. To help create jobs they built a bunch of high security prisons.
I'm surprised that this documentary didn't mention the state prison that was recently closed near Cairo. It was the former execution prison in IL. A lot of despair associated with prisons, death rows, and the eventual loss of depressing prison jobs.
This was a very well done documentary. I’ve travelled all over the southern Midwest, performing science shows. I’ve never been to Cairo, IL, but I’ve heard all about the place. I’ve even been to Kaskaskia, IL (west of the Mississippi River). This documentary reminds me of two things. Firstly, Chicago is not the heart and soul of Illinois. Don’t try to be the mob if you don’t have the mob. Secondly, people matter in their community. Stand and fight for good and righteousness where you live. If you’re confused, there’s a book in the Holy Bible called “Proverbs.” You can read one chapter a day for a month. It’s actually color-blind.
I love how optimistic the gent near the beginning is. He sees potential for Cairo and how it could be a wonderful place to raise children.
Will our future generation be the ones to breathe life back into this beautiful town?
I don't think I had seen this all the way through. Having grown up in Cairo, a young child during the civil rights movement, this really strikes a chord with me. I love that Wilma and Lee Carter were in this--she just recently passed away and I didn't get a chance to go home for my annual fall trip. And of course, love seeing my dad, Bill Harrell, and the old Woods house he and my mom have worked so hard to preserve--just feet from the corner lot of 17th and Poplar where I lived the first couple of years of my life. I have moved to many places in my adult life, but the 'Ro will always be home! Thank you!
Well it’s time to leave California and time for you to go back home.
Do anyone know any cross or Gill
Would you go back and live there now is the question? Raise a family? No, you, just like your dad are stuck in the past of Cairo, what it was. Your dad still buying up all those dilapidated properties and still paying Johnny to "fix" them up?
@@TheHickoryHideaway Actually, my mother passed away 2 years ago and I moved back to help my aging father. I now live in that house featured in the film. I’m also involved volunteering for various service organizations in town. There are many good people still there, including family and friends. It’s not what it used to be and that’s just fine with me. Not sure what your need is to bash it. Are you unhappy in your life and need to spread your misery around? Did you ever live there? What is fucking wrong with you? Get a life!
Yes, Wilma was a angel. Her loss is still felt.
I was a member of the Soul Phonics circa 1969-present whenever I can make it home. Saxophonist/keyboardist. 🎷🎹
Great band, saw them a few years ago.
A video that needs to be seen by all Americans
Thank you for this documentary
i have lived in Carbondale my whole life. Only in the past week have I finally explored Cairo and done much photography. It's astonishing the number of buildings in this documentary no longer there. Its population is about 1500 now and the majority of those vested in the town are elderly. The area has charmed me, but I'm worried abou the future of town staples, inclulding the library and Customs House. On a positive note, some people have moved in and purchased several of the historic mansions and are restoring them. The city's sewer system is being updated, and they opened their first grocery store in 7 years. Hope exists.
What's the use of having a library if the residents can't go in? It was easier to get a library card in a city with multimillion collection, than Cairo. Cairo is still racist as ever. All white people save for one or two work at Bungee. No way in the world Black people could get money in a town and not contribute to the city. They're building a new road to bungee. I guess the white people got tired of driving past Black people. No one Black works at the utility company, save a few tokens. Same with the DG outside of town. Cairo is still ran by the same racist money hungry grubbs of the pass. They put a token up there and call it progress. The port will never open, because they don't want to hire Black people. Nothing has changed. Small towns all over America are just like Cairo. Change meth to weed, fentanyl to crack. Same difference, just fewer deaths.
What I knew about Cairo Illinois from my childhood and I am now 82 years old is they had the worst race riot in Illinois.
This is my hometown. I lived through all of this. I don't believe that it'll ever get any better in my lifetime. 😢
Not until we really take control and stop electing tokens a qoons.
I have never heard of Cairo IL, but some how this appeared on my feed. I am so glad it did. I am praying for Cairo 🙏🏽
I stopped here to find a bathroom omw to St. Louis. I was just in awe of what I saw. The empty shell of what looked like a place tgat was once alive just drew me in, intrigued me, and I could not stop thinking abt this place ever since. That was over a decade ago. It's sad, yet so mesmerizing.
I never pass up the chance to recommend this incredible documentary.
Cairo BBQ sauce! I’ll never forget it. My dad was born and raised in the area and then moved to Chicago area as a young man. We always bought Cairo BBQ sauce when we would go “down home” to take back to Chicago.
I passed through this town this weekend and was just amazed…everything was abandoned. I started researching as soon as I got home to TN.
I did the same exact thing as I'm from TN. My wife and I took a random road trip for the weekend (just recently) to go find Shawnee Forest in Illinois but my GPS led me a bit astray and I wound up in Cairo. We were amazed too, but at the same time, it depressed us that an American town got into such a dilapidated condition. The first thing I told her was 'you could film an episode of the Walking Dead here.' It really shook us to our core so we turned around and spent the rest of the weekend in Cape Girardeau, MO.
Thanks so much for this. My grandmother was from here before moving up to east chicago in the early 1900s. İ never knew anything about it. This is really well done in every respect
I drove a truck in the mid 70s through Cairo before the I 57 bridge was built. I could tell when I would go through the town was on a downward spiral but I always loved the town. I loved crossing the old Ohio River and Mississippi river brdges and going through the town and always stopping at the Wyatt Junction trucks stop over the state line in Missouri. Great Memories!!
Beautiful doc. Went to Cairo a couple weeks back. So much character and history. May it be remembered always.
While my father served his second tour in Viet Nam 1968. We lived in Cairo, my mother's birthplace. I remember all the conflict in the town of that time.I also worked at the hospital, Southern Medical Ctr, till it closed Jan1, 1987. The town officials drove the town into ruin. There are a lot of good folks still living there!
I live in the Chicagoland area. I find this town compelling and I love history. I kind of want to visit this place.
What did people say about the lynchings? History? And the “souvenirs” from back then?
There is a reference to Cairo in Huckleberry Finn. When I read it as a kid I couldn't figure out what Cairo Egypt had to do with Jim and Huck's river trip.
Did you ever realize
Thank goodness for almanacs and atlases!!
1:04:27 that must be the spirit of Cairo. Loved the way he told the story... the good ones as well as the dark
I always thought one of the most interesting things about Cairo is that it's the same distance from Birmingham, Little Rock, Chattanooga, Jackson, Atlanta, and Memphis than it is from Chicago. It's still in Illinois, but most definitely a part of the South.
My father was born there in 1921 at St. Mary's hospital. My grandmother was killed there in a home invasion. Thank you for this production.
@Donnell Okafor Thank you for your personal comment. My grandmother died in 1969. It was a black-on-white crime during the peak era of interracial strife. Dad said that the town never fostered upward mobility; if someone (regardless of race) wanted to make something of himself, he had to leave. Dad saw this attitude as early as the 1930s. A cousin who lived in town until her death in 1990 explained that more generous welfare benefits in Illinois versus Kentucky or Missouri contributed to the localized poverty. If you would like to know more, I'm open to talking 1:1, but my knowledge is largely secondhand.
Sorry to hear what happened to ur grandma
Killed by diversity
@@OnkelPHMageebetter welfare was not the reason Cairo went down, it was multiple factors including most people in the so called government didn't and still doesn't know how to run and better a town even when they had some help. I know I lived there from 1957-1978 and it's much worse since I moved.
Crazy born and raised in Chicago, always past Cairo as I go to the south. Next time I come that way imma jump off the highway and visit the town. Nice documentary
We were just there two weeks ago. No gas station, pharmacy, grocery and closing churches. Sad decay of a once great city.
deep facts from deep Illinois, amazing doc; subtitles would be good; American english and southern accent is difficult for us (European)
Thank you. Great documentary! I drove thru Cairo for the 1st time yesterday. I have traveled throughout the US, North Africa, Mexico, and even Cuba during its great depression after the collapse of the USSR. What I saw in Cairo was the saddest place I have visited. At least Cuba had hope.
The effects of white hat racism is a still present curse.
This is a very interesting story. But one thing caught my attention. Someone said there was a big influx of people to the area because Illinois had better welfare and care programs than other states. If people move to a certain area with intentions of doing nothing except of living off the state, what long term good can come of that? Excellent video!
I’ve been deeply fascinated by Cairo since we took a wrong turn on tour and drove past that iconic bridge, about 10 years ago. I don’t understand why people don’t want to build there or put businesses there out of fear of flooding, when there are numerous cities in flood planes, most notably NOLA. I wish a billionaire could see the potential of Cairo and make efforts to bring it back. It’s past is dark, but it doesn’t mean the future can’t be bright. I still have hope for Cairo, and I actually look forward to going back there as soon as I can.
It's much like East St. Louis, Ill is today!... very sad!
East St Louis looks bad but not as bad as Cairo- and it is because of corruption by the so call politicians that people keep voting into office, but one thing I notice--there is no trash every where like it is in East St Louis
@@SS-hd7kn yeah but corruption ruined East St Louis too because it's now run by Chicago the government runs East Saint Louis and Cairo
This is no where near like east saint louis. Washington park maybe but east saint louis is not deserted. Most abandoned houses have been torn down. You both must be passerby’s
@@kakeisharice1669 Google downtown.. when I was there back in the day, late sixties early seventies, Pop. was 80,000 now it's 15,000 what's up!!??
East Cleveland Ohio even worse
Fascinating and tragic. I driven through Cairo several times a year for most of my life on trips. Each time I drive through I can just sense the history and pain that it must have seen. I always wish I could see it when it was different.
Thank you many of my ancestors were from there. They left in the early 1900’s.
I was born in Cairo on December 17th 1972 at St. Mary's hospital
What a rich but twisted history that place has. Haven't ventured south to the US in 15 years but if I'm ever down that way maybe I'll do a side trip to Cairo.
FANTASTIC DOCUMENTARY!
I got lost and drove from Missouri to Cairo, Illinois to Kentucky.......all in about a mile. Interesting place but definitely would not want to live there from the looks of it
It is sad, but towns do die for many reasons.
I love this, great piece of work , real people and their stories are the docu's I'm interested in
Excellent very well put together documentary! Shout-out Ricky Casper! ✌️
1909 lynching cursed the town ... souls are rising
The souls are broke too
It's a welfare town, that suffered the inevitable end of all welfare towns. Eventually you run out of other people's money
🤬🤬🤬
Yes his name was William James..
I was born in Metropolis, Illinois in 1950. I remember my father taking me to Cairo to meet some students he taught. I knew nothing of the problems that was such a part of this community. It is so sad.However this a part of the case system that was mentioned in this program. We really have a long way to go in these United States.😢
My grandparents are both from here. They passed away over 20 years ago.
Great film! Big fan of your work.
My grandpa lived in Watts, Ca from the time he was a little boy until he died at age of 87. He had a trucking company for decades. Watts has a horrible history, too. And continues to have poverty. However, since it's not as isolated at Cairo, there might be hope.
You got to be kidding, right? Watts is like Beverly Hills as far as infrastructure and housing go. Cairo even makes Gary, Indiana look like a well-run city. There is nothing there in Cairo, but what do you expect them to do? It is scary thinking about paying sky-high rent and overpriced utilities! U.S. GOVERNMENT, get off your asses and build some affordable Housing! If they don't act soon, there could be as many as ten million people homeless by 2035.
Great documentary.
This is happening everywhere in the US today. 2021
The 2020 census came out and rural Illinois is dying. Meanwhile metro Chicago has grown, including Chicago with a growth of 56k.
@@gabe.6273 yea but 53k are getting murdered every weekend in Chicago.
@@danielmoore62 this is pure right wing propaganda. And 53k deaths? Are you delusional? hahahahahahahah
@@danielmoore62 Chicago is growing and you’re coping and seething.
@@gabe.6273 wow. You’re so knowledgeable and polite. Thanks for your comment.
I visited Cairo in 1988, because I’d heard all about this uniquely situated city and wanted to see it. It was still intact, though signs of economic woes were present.
There were plenty of businesses in the downtown, and a few people (it was winter). But the newer cities to the north had more commerce. The charming old buildings were lovely and had such a southern flavor.
I was born in Kentucky just across the river from Cairo in 1969. We had racism but nothing like this. My family had lots of black friends. My black wife was actually born in the old Cairo hospital in 1972. Kinda strange that just across the river from us that all this nonsense was happening. Just look what it got them all.
Been through Cairo twice when on cross country road trips, even spent a quiet overnight in our van at the park on the confluence one night and found the town fascinating although depressing. Had no idea about it’s history.
Really well done, Nick!
Wow, I Just Stumbled Upon This Documentary and it's Definitely a Story Between Two Rivers Thanks for Sharing This
I stopped there for a few hours in Sept 2020. The BBQ place was really great. The churches across the street a beautiful. Walk any direction a couple of blocks and you'll see ornate old houses that are empty and rotting.
Seen this documentary loved it. Got it from mccracken co public library. ❤❤ explains alot and i never knew how long shemwells had been there :-) tbh everytime i see this 😭 makes me cry
Does shemwells no longer exist?
@@jonwicker3142 last i heard they sold it to someone
@@tlo42058 it has yellow tape in front of it the like a crime scene or fire happened.
@@etrainwilson990 😥
Very cool Nick. Thankyou!
I was diverted through here on the way to visit my family in Missouri. worst looking city i've ever driven through! so bad I was inspired to look it up and learn more!
Excellent doc. Anyone have any recommendations for other good docs on youtube like this?
Salton Sea…John Waters narrates it.
When I was younger I used to go to Cairo ever Sunday night to the club 18,an I liked the turf club the man that owed it was ab ransom he was a very nice man treated me like a son I have some fond memories of Cairo,the best think the government could do for Cairo is to put it out of its misery is come in an just flating the whole town,are the next a big flood comes just let the town go back to the rivers that made it there’s nothing left there to save just let it go.gone but not forgotten R.I.P. CAIRO ⚰️⚰️
good documentary. thank you!
I want to bring this town back to its glory days. I’ve started buying up property there and plan on buying more.
From your perspective, what could be done to revitalize it?
River towns often stopped working in the 1930,'s. Once that river commerce was gone, so was any growth or wealth. No idea why anyone would stay there.
The town’s population peaked in 1920 and kept on declining steadily and really fell after the race riots happened. That was the final nail in the coffin for the town and lead to its eventual fate as it is today. Also, the town is very prone to flooding and because of that it hampered potential growth.
God Bless you guys.
Looks like a wonderful community
Sad story. Racial tensions always has the same result, White flight.
What you said is 100% true, but what's the alternative?
I am in my late 50,s. Been all over this country. The south, the north east, Pacific Northwest and I live in Texas now. Father retired from the Air Force in the mid 70s to a small town in Southern Illinois 30 miles or so north of Cairo. To this DAY my opinion has not changed when I say nothing comes close to the racism we experienced in Southern Illinois. Beautiful place. But what a hell hole.
I know this place from being stationed at Scott AFB
US 60 has hundreds of towns along their route from Oklahoma to Virginia that remind me of Mayberry!
I went here in 2004 on a church project from texas. I've always followed it since then. amazingly kind people and the BBQ is almost as great as the people! it had such a great location until the interstate system skipped it. SAD!!
I recently started watch "Cornelius Catfish Channel" here in UA-cam. He seemed like a cool guy and his family super nice. And all the places he found to fish I figured wherever he was might be a cool place to live. Took me a little while of stalking to track down where he lives...it's Cairo (I'm pretty sure). So I looked on Zillow...holy crap, some old Victorian homes and many extremely inexpensive homes. It's now on my list of possible next home locations. I like the idea of moving to some town that's so burned out that the bad people have left leaving mostly good people. I'll take a trip out there this summer to see if its for me.
Do research the crime rate and flood risk before investing.
Might as well check out Detroit and Benton Harbor while your at it. All good people.
They should make it like southern Florida build a big park with everything the land would hold because of the rivers and flooding. Zoo, casino, amusement park etc.
If your paying attention, this is the most important town in america.
Mr. Ramirez, absolutely, you are on point, peace and blessings to you your family.
@Money mo I think it's a parallel for the state of this entire country and a cautionary tale for what the future could look like if we don't be careful
I’ve seen many documentaries where Cairo was booming back In the day. Many came there for factory jobs just like East saint Louis but sadly the race riots killed many and the factory jobs slowly moved away. That’s when poverty started in these rural cities but the land is very valuable and there are many that want it. I believe that’s why they allow so many murders to go unpunished. Let them wipe enough of us out and it’s easier to control the ones left.
Great documentary, well done.
Cairo will never come back
Sad but true
It should have started 50 years ago
I have an ambitious project in the works. I hope the destination can be Cairo Illinois.
Same.
Nature itself should tell you there is something seemingly dangerous of putting a town between two rivers. Potential flooding means you could get swallowed up by both!
My heart breaks for them and the animals 💔
Especially the ones who apparently live on dangerous rooftops!😪
Cairo, Illinois- The City Killed By Racism.
Exactly!! It's very racist
Racism, sexism, phobias…kills many….sadly.
You misspelled welfare. That's what killed it
Well they don't have any racism now because they don't have any people
There was a time when Cairo could have become a large metropolitan transportation hub with urban sprawl on all three sides (Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois) of the juncture. Too bad there was so much official mismanagement and lack of real law enforcement that had stolen the hopes of so many dreams.
not until those old bridges going to KY & MO get replaced. :-/
A documentary like this makes me think about what happened to my grandma's town of Newton Falls Ohio which died out when the major manufacturers and various businesses left it because it was all about big money and corporate greed to wipe out the small town life. Then I look at the suburbia I've grown up in all of my life and watched how that quality has gone downhill as even areas like mine are taking hard hits from the same greed our regime has foisted on all of us by experimenting with lower income areas like this whose population is actually lower now than when this was made. America should have never given up our control to governments and politicians because most of our small towns now are a Cairo minus the racial tensions which were also politician and government induced.
The former congressman, Glen Poshard, is part of the problem. I read an article a few years ago, and it showed how Poshard strategically move from state job to state job to game the retirement system. It indicated that he is the highest paid retired state employee in all of Illinois. There is a real man of the people. He later took a job as president of Morthland College in West Frankfort, IL which turned out to be a scam and left taxpayers holding the bag for much of the college's infrastructure.
Good information. Alot of people don't talk about the political effects
All those empty, vacant buildings and a growing homeless population, tragic. Hope the old buildings can be gutted, restored for good use. Waste not, want not. Perhaps a success story can come out tragedy. Young people can make an helpful impact.
Sadly most of those buildings have been taken down and are now vacant lots.
Thar be catfish !! Huge Flathead and Blue cats, so many you can horse em in and stack em like firewood !!!
The Cairo area has great fishing, not a lot of fishing pressure from other anglers, and great people.
Lots of local folks are pleased to let ya pitch your camping tent in their yard or woods, and happy to get the small
fee ya offer for the privilege of doing so. There's not alot of money floating around to be had in the area, so insted
of catch & release it's good to give the familys you're staying by some 2 and 3 foot catfish. Joe Patton
This is a decade old. Wonder how things have been going.
Cairo lost another 900 in population. Down from 3000 to 2100 in the past decade.
Oh. I drove through there yesterday. Population less than 1700. It’s literally a ghost town.
@@motoknivesandgunsbyjt Wow. Just crazy.
drove through cairo like a month aggo dead af and creepy bad vibes but undoudebly home sweet home to some still there
I just drove through, and it's a ghost town. 8/2/24.
Cairo, IL population down to 1884 in 2020 census.
This is were my Mother was born and raised, Cairo Ill;
You'd think a town that sits at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, would be a metropolitan hub for this nation. Instead it's a ghost town.
Monopoly destroys black markets
Born and raise here. The spirit of racism still in affect today 2021. For humans to hate other humans because of skin color and lies that is woven in the very fabric of USA is despicable. Race does not have a biologic definition but rather political and social one that is fluid and independent of science. Anthony Chambliss my classmate love you.
Race is biological.
@@franciscloutier5387 Legacy you can't help it
My advice is if one of them moves into your neighborhood, get the FOR SALE sign up immediately
@@arkybaldknobber8062 Nope!
I live just a few miles North of Cairo , my grandmother was an RN at the old hospital. Shems' BBQ. is AMAZING! I can't wait to drop my restored jet boat at the confluence and enjoy a delicious BBQ! Cairo has a wonderful history and everyone should celebrate it!😊
PsychoSteve is right
I wouldn’t feed my dog Shemwell’s
This is one of many reasons I dislike politicians. Cairo still has a car dealership. Money and resources go to historical buildings. And certain houses inside a collapsing town. Pay attention to who lives well there 💯💯💯
All rich crooks
I seen my grandmother's ran down home in this video I was born in Cairo and I was born in St Mary's hospital
It's the two rivers City of Cairo
@57:30 lmao! no way was he raping her! ahahaa! her husband just couldn't live with the fact, his wife was cheating on him with a black guy! lmfaoo! so he killed the black guy in a rage and the wife did nothing but lie with her husband. sheesh, you couldn't pay me a million dollars to visit that town. all different types of demons & spirits running through the entire town, as if they are still alive and don't KNOW that they are dead. smh gives me the creeps just thinking about it...
Don't matter what kind of color they were. They shouldn't have been in the house. I don't care what color they were, if I came in and seen that they wouldn't be leaving.
So is electricity,water and sewer still going in that town?
Welcome to southern illinios...black or white nobody gives up hope
the two total eclipses 2017 & 2024 intersect at Cairo....marked for judgement. On the New Madrid fault line.
🍻✊🍽
My friend and multiple Christians went there last weekend.. Poured anointing oil on a plumb-line and prayed over the city… My friend held the plumb-line and poured the oil… He told me that they felt a serious difference spiritually over the place from when they went in to after they prayed.. He told me all about the crossing eclipse and the statistical probability of that happening
Greg Richard, the total eclipses intersect 50 miles away-ish in Makanda, IL. Been there done that in 2017.
Hope y’all got earthquake insurance before the eclipse in 2024.
Greg, I have had added to my policy since the day I closed on my home. But, do tell me, when will the next one happen? And, what does that have to do with 1. the video. 2. the 2 total eclipses occurring?
Hello from Kansas 🇺🇸
Love it
i was hoping this doc would tell the story of the town, how it began, the good times, the decline and all the rest. all they talked about was racism and civil rights?? there has always been racism in all towns, it sucks, we all know this. racism didnt kill the town, the town died because its in the miss delta, i wish they would have explained that better, how this region went from being one of the wealthiest to one of the poorest.
I think cus some factories closed.
I was thinking the same thing. Also, tax rates in Illinois suck, so why would business come back here when they can set up shop in Indiana, Kentucky or Missouri.
Agreed
Shift from river to Interstate transportation and businesses declining because folks were driving to Cape, Carbondale and Paducah to do their shopping/entertainment.
I know this post is old but wanted to chime in. It did explain it, albeit briefly. People heard that welfare was better there then elsewhere, then dumped in. Do you think the area is going to get economically wealthy when nothing but poor people pile in? Went downhill from there.
My Grandpa came from Cairo would like to visit some day and find great grandma grave site
When was this documentary taken?
Nick, please update references in description for the movie .... what year filmed. Looks like filmed between 2008-2016 based on the fact that at 49:00 Obama is President.
It was made in 2012, and filmed between 2007 - 2011. Full description on website, but date is now on description.
@@NickJordanartist Thanks Nick! Thanks for your dedication in completing this!
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !"
Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam."
Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!"
Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment?
People keep saying this town should disappear just because there isn't an official use for it. Have you ever been to Victorville, CA? And it keeps growing. No use whatsoever. Just a bunch of people on the side of the biggest desert in the States. Just ugly nothing, and mean people. To help create jobs they built a bunch of high security prisons.
PS everyone may have left because they kept getting food poisoning from lady cutting up the fish with a "rinsed" blade. Jesus take the wheel.
I'm surprised that this documentary didn't mention the state prison that was recently closed near Cairo. It was the former execution prison in IL. A lot of despair associated with prisons, death rows, and the eventual loss of depressing prison jobs.
This was a very well done documentary. I’ve travelled all over the southern Midwest, performing science shows. I’ve never been to Cairo, IL, but I’ve heard all about the place. I’ve even been to Kaskaskia, IL (west of the Mississippi River). This documentary reminds me of two things. Firstly, Chicago is not the heart and soul of Illinois. Don’t try to be the mob if you don’t have the mob. Secondly, people matter in their community. Stand and fight for good and righteousness where you live. If you’re confused, there’s a book in the Holy Bible called “Proverbs.” You can read one chapter a day for a month. It’s actually color-blind.
The bible is violent and misogynistic though. No thanks.
@@ladesigner8764 Ok, stop driving, riding on trains, airplanes, or railroads. Give up every modern convenience and I’ll believe your passion.