Stopped in that town to take a piss while on the way back from Michigan. We pulled into this gas station that was creepy as hell. There was crackheads hanging out in front, plus the bathroom in the gas station didn't have a working light so I had to use my phone light to see where I was going. Pretty creepy place, especially when you're from out of town and you don't know the area too well
Sad. I used to play drums with a band called "Reaction", from Mayfield Kentucky. On numerous occasions we played at the Elks Lodge that you showed pictures of earlier. I find it hard to believe that things have continually down spiraled instead of improving. Thanks for sharing this. Mark, Paducah, Ky.
I lived in Cairo in the early 90s. This video brings back so many memories. When I lived in Cairo, the hospital was closed. I remember that most of the homes were older with basements (I'm not sure why because most of them flooded when the river rose so you couldn't really store anything down there). I remember seeing horseshoes on many houses beside the doors & having someone tell me that it was there to ward off evil spirits. I remember living on 36th street & having pet dogs that would always vanish, never to be found again. We went through 3 dogs before we just gave up having a pet (I secretly thought that someone was eating them). I remember going to the jr high school, with the principles being Mr. Chamberlain & Mr. Henderson, & the coach was Coach Baldwin. I remember that time that Mr. Henderson's car got egged @ the end of the school year. I remember living on 17th street. I remember that back road over by the river ( where they always had the club) & that particular piece of road that they kept sectioned off because they would fix it & it would just sink right back down. Someone said that the ground was cursed because that is where some black man was brutally murdered back in the day & the ground hadn't been right since. I remember waking up every morning to the smell of Westvaco (or the paper mill) & how it stunk so bad, you could smell it 15-20 miles away in Charleston Mo/Mississippi County. I remember living in Elmwood projects. Cairo was so rough back then. I still have some family that lives there. And not to mention those bridges that you have to cross to get from Kentucky to Missouri....I tense up every time I think about them. Every time I cross them.
There was something in the news in the last six months (mid 2015 to spring 2016) about the housing authority either being taken over or closed, I forget which, over property violations. Insects were one of the violations, and I would venture mold and other things.
I got lost driving threw Kentucky. When I asked for directions they told me the only way to get back on track was to travel threw Cairo. they all looked at each other in a worrisome kind of way. One of the men there said that the speed limit was 30 miles per hour and to drive 25. If you go one mile over they will pull you over and slap you with a $300 dollar ticket. This is because the only viable business in this town is a funeral home and the police station.
My parents are from Herrin, Illinois. When I was 4 or 5 (1958 or 1959), we stopped at a diner in downtown Cairo for supper. I remember being creeped out at the thought of living behind levees. I remember seeing the open gate to drive through, exiting the diner and looking to the right...
Cairo isn't a ghost town at all. It's just the "historic downtown" area that is largely made of abandoned buildings and empty streets. I guess since the downtown area is a decent size and the town is tiny, people think the entire city is empty. I think the population is about 2900 people and for the most part, everyone minds their own business. At least they did when I was there last week. My friend and I parked on a road near the train car and walked the streets. No one bothered us and the people we did encounter were fairly friendly. One random man even joked with us so there's no need to be afraid to get out of your car. Lol. Most of the traffic is on Washington and the downtown area is located off of 8th & Commercial/Commerce. It looked as though the rest of the streets were residential.
+aaron wilson I believe the town was a victim of the Great Depression in the 1930s. There are ghost towns scattered all over the states some going back over 100 years. Most of them are victims of an obsolete or non-viable industry. Not a reflection the times today. It is only matter of time before an investor or investors try develop it.
I lived in Cairo from 1985 to 1989 and it started to decline then. I went to Cairo Jr High and Cairo High, played basketball and ran track under Larry Baldwin and Mr. Woods. I lived on 25th St. This breaks my heart. Yolanda Young
Great location, I like the way you shoot your videos. Makes for great still shots. The silence at locations like this add to the mood. Thanks for another really good video.
I can say this, I live in Cairo as of now I have been for over 6 years. it's not a bad place at all, but it does have it's history is what I like about it.
Love this video. is there any chance of you going back and filming inside some of those abandoned houses you showed when you were driving around at the end of the vid?
I claim Cairo as my birthplace (hospital was called Saint Mary's Hospital at that time) and grew up there until I left for college in 1974. Yes, the town had it's share of racial tensions, but just like any non-urban metropolis, if there are no jobs, then the population will decline. This video is great for a jaunt through an abandoned building, but doesn't do justice for the rest of the town. The "downtown" is indeed a ghost town, but there are still good loving people that still call Cairo home. Without "high income" jobs and industry, there's a small tax base, so naturally the infrastructure is in need of repair. I still visit the town every couple of years. I have good memories of my time there. If you get a chance, walk the neighborhoods, visit St. Mary's park, view the levee system and open your eyes to the vast Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and last but not least, enjoy some of the best smoked BBQ at Shemwell's.
WOW, just like Detroit ! What a pity... Great job on the vids you guys have got it !! It's like they say you eventually run out of other peoples money..
I have been in Cairo several times, but I didn't know there were that many interesting abandoned places. I only saw a few. I guess I did not go down the right streets. I think I will be going there again soon.
In 2011 we stopped there on our vacation to southern IL. There was a shitty grocery store we got chips and soda at. We didn't go through much, but I remember how bad it was.
It appears a large number of people left somewhat suddenly and recently (within the past 30 years.) That would make for a lot of buildings to demolish, but few tax dollars to do it with.
Backyard E. you guys do a great job at exploring & providing some background info. Watchn this mad me so sad for the ppl that lost so much+ I realized how much I miss my dad that traveled through that area weekly until he bc ill-stricken in 2011. He always gave me deep details of his travel experiences, he knew that area+ many more throughout country, but he knew I-57, like the back of his hand. PPL DON'T REALIZE HOW HUGE Il. is including Chicago area. Not every area is murderville or gang infested. There are so many good neighborhoods & outlining suburbs with prime real estate. My family is affluent, but worked hard and we continue to work hard&share W/underprivileged communities. I had no clue that the town of Cairo is basically obsolete. Yes, there were many racial issues there, but I won't say entire town was RACIST. I've been there many times but fortunately our interactions were positive. I subscribed to ur channel, keep up good work! Loved the cemetery and plantation home view. Be safe as well.
My cousin worked in Cairo for years and I've went through there when i went to lamberts (a really good restaurant) all you see is boarded up windows and like 3 stores.
If you wish to make a movie, you certainly can use Cairo as a location even without the poster of this video. You may even be able to get tax credits & other help from the Illinois Film Office. www.illinois.gov/dceo/whyillinois/Film/Pages/default.aspx
a interesting vid. Do you know why Cairo is this way today? How/why does a town lose over 2/3 of their population? A little history is always welcomed by us viewers. One little complaint / suggestion to you and really every other urban explorer out there - and trust me I watch all of them from everybody. All you guys (and gals) need to invest in a decent flashlight - ones that offer a wide angle lens on it to really light up an entire room when you enter it. This will not only improve the quality of your vids but also (and more importantly) for your protection. You are exploring places that are falling apart - with possible flooring that has holes in it or is ready to plunge down to the next level at the first step. The floor are covered with debris that could be dangerous and you never know when a place might have animals or snakes in it that could pose a threat. You need to be able to really see what you are getting yourself into. Oh and always carry the flashlight on you. You're getting ready to head into a dark basement and you realize that your flashlight is in the car. Good vid. Want to see more - but be carefull out there.
Ted Martindale The entire town was evacuated in 2011 due to severe flooding, then more flooding in 2013. What little population that town had left, mostly abandoned it because of property destruction from the flooding.
+Barry Lawhorn, +Rhyannon Paragorn Thanks for answering my question. Thats the one thing I love about the urban explorer vids I like to know the backstory - whether its a whole town or a single home I want to know why? I see houses that are stuffed full of personal belongings and I want to know why or what was the reason for ppl to just up and leave all their stuff. That kind of info just makes the vids even more interesting.
Ted Martindale During the Civil War Cairo was a major supply center and even a base for Ulysses Grant because of its position at the border with the Confederacy and its location on the Mississippi. However, because of that position, Grant forced much of the river trade between the west and east to pass through Chicago because Cairo was so close to the fighting. That was the first hit. After the war, Cairo recovered because the steamboat industry was in full swing and Cairo was at the perfect position to take advantage of the river traffic. This is where the second and final hit came at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Near the end of the 19th century a railroad bridge was constructed over the Mississippi diverting rail traffic away from Cairo. This was not severe because most rail lines still passed through Cairo. A second rail line was constructed over the Mississippi in the early 20th century though that practically erased Cairo from the rail network. Cairo still held on due to the steamboat trade but this industry died in the 1930s as the automobile became the primary mode of transportation for Americans and highways were constructed. Sure the I-57 federal highway passes through Cairo and connects Missouri to Illinois across the Mississippi but Cairo didn't adapt to this. No rest stops or highway minded gas stations were constructed. So the steamboat industry collapsed because cars and rail were the most preferred way to travel which meant Cairo was finished as a steamboat hub and Cairo had no facilities to support highway commuters. With nothing to offer Cairo just dried up as a result
Ted Martindale If you're curious about the history of something there is the internet. A google search usually pulls-up some type of information. Yes, this was a troll. But I will also add that if you're looking for history on UA-cam through these videos, you've come to the wrong place. Some people do their research when making their videos. Others turn the history into fiction. Don't always believe what you see to be fact.
I believe at 8:47 while walking thru the hospital's hallway, there is a EVP captured prior to you entering the room on the left. It sounds like it says "Hey!" and it doesn't appear to come from outside, but more or so from down the hallway as the voice sounds almost echo-ish.....
I saw in a previous comment reply that you had to run from the Authorities, but got off with a warning. That makes me wonder, is it illegal to go inside of the buildings?
Zednought Wastelander Of course it's illegal but it's not too serious. At most you might get a $20 ticket as long as you're not breaking and entering or vandalizing. We actually had permission for the hospital though
BackyardExploration Could I ask how you obtained permission? I'm curious to explore these buildings. Also: Thanks to everyone else who has replied to inform me. Thank you all so much!
its a beautiful old town been going there my whole life, its a shame folks dont love it enough to revive the old buildings. Gem theatre woulda been a good start
There was a large group of punk kids back in 2009 that wanted to turn this place into a squatters paradise and create a punk scene there. They failed. I met one guy named Zach and he said it was so lonely and depressing that he just started to go to church just for human interaction.
damn...i was just in southern ill and wish i would have seen this video a few weeks ago. thanks. i have some cool stuff on my channel. peace from colorado
Zach Potter A bit of both. I actually got a pretty good adrenaline rush here. Cops saw us in one of the buildings so they took a couple units to the front of the building and got on the loudspeaker for us to come out. We jumped out of a second story window on the backside and ran 100 yards to our car. We started to pull away and I see a cop car flooring it in reverse down the street. Next thing I know we're boxed in by cop cars and being asked to get out of the vehicle. We got off with a warning so it was totally worth it lol
Rode my motorcycle through Cairo one time, quite the depressing little town. Like something out if a scary movie. Heard the state wanted to flood the town a couple yrs back
That may actually be cheaper than maintaining the levees. Give people the option of selling, at a reasonable rate. If they cannot get enough for their properties to buy or build elsewhere. They will not go.
I've been there before . We took a wrong turn and ended up in whoville but it's called "future town" and in like 1919 or somewhere around that there was a bad flood but it's weird everything looks old and then you see a house that someone could be living in and then their next door neighbors house looks like it was in a wind tunnel / fire it's weird and there's still people walking down the street
I went there a few years ago and the reason this town is dying is because of the river flooding. As it is located where the Ohio and Mississippi revers meet. When you come into town you go through the levee that has flood gates that drop down to the road when it floods.
Does anyone know where the cemetery is a town that size would've had to have had a large one when I'm in Paducah visiting relatives I always go to Cairo exploring and I can't find the cemetery not even on Google earth any help would be appreciated I love history thanks
Are you sure there were any cemeteries, at all? Most the land is below the level of the flood plain, which would create the same problems with cemeteries as those in New Orleans.
Lots of these little towns rotting away, looks like a good size population lived there at one time. People have moved off to the cities or are dieing off. Yet those people in the city say that they are running out of space. Of course some new industry would have to take hold and bring money in. Also most all the buildings are a complete loss, just no money to knock them down.
+Luke Schaefer (WebLuke) Yep. Small U.S. cities that once were thriving off of industrial jobs are now dying out as most of those jobs have moved overseas. Small farm towns are still doing decent, though.
Too true. Yet, if you were to put an industry in such an area, they would soon want to charge you high taxes, in order to raze the abandoned structures and bring up the standard of living, from decades of debt and decline.
zumbagirly72 Come pick me up We'll do the trip together and catalog just how many are in this condition. We might be surprised to see the numbers are nearing 90%. 90% of the land is repossessed and outright claimed by .gov. You are familiar with AGENDA 21?
It isn't completely a ghost town. About 2,800 people still live there. Its population has dropped because of a combination of the Interstate bypassing it which killed businesses and floods (it sits right where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet).
Basements are frequently unusable, being filled with water. If you are lucky, you might have built your building on a hill exceeding 15 feet, thereby avoiding the water.
Cairo. Not the one in Egypt. The metropolis. Gateway to the Mississippi from the Ohio, and to Paducah, KY. Declining in early '70s, business ruined by completion of I-57 bypassing it, by Missouri-Mississippi River floods 1993, and by Ohio River flood 1997. Never recovered.
James LaMarr - A little before my day, so I can't say. Thanks for telling me. But why didn't race riots destroy Kansas City, St. Louis, or Cincinnati? If not so big as Detroit's, all three nonetheless had shooting and buildings burnt.
+Verner Hornung I've read the book, "The Cairo Story", self published by a black pastor in the 70's, but I suspect Cairo was already dying long before then...the racial tensions were not helped by the declining economy.
I suspect they are. Beware though, you have to supply all your own security, and you likely have to travel more than 30 miles to get supplies, beyond the minimum. There is also no employment available and traffic has all been diverted away from the streets, to the interstates. Almost no one ever comes off the interstates or the bridges, to frequent any business that may exist in Cairo.
Environmental hazards in the three buildings on the property include frayed asbestos-wrapped piping, floor surfaces containing asbestos, drums and small containers of unidentified flammable and hazardous chemicals, and medical equipment containing small amounts of mercury. At least two underground storage tanks will also be removed. yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/0C30C7E0D9F4243F852572C00053B009
benchkey Nah, just needed a camera with better lowlight performance. I have one now, but this video was shot with a $200 point and shoot along with a lot of my other sketchy videos where I didn't want to bring my nice gear
Sometimes we get permission, but usually no. We got permission to explore the hospital at the end of this video. That was after a couple cops kindly asked us to leave the office building shown before.
Stopped in that town to take a piss while on the way back from Michigan. We pulled into this gas station that was creepy as hell. There was crackheads hanging out in front, plus the bathroom in the gas station didn't have a working light so I had to use my phone light to see where I was going. Pretty creepy place, especially when you're from out of town and you don't know the area too well
Big Tex youre not lying hell yea it is, unfortunately i live here.
Hope you were armed.
I was born in that hospital in April of 1977. Watching this was so surreal.
Joe Price me as well
Sad. I used to play drums with a band called "Reaction", from Mayfield Kentucky. On numerous occasions we played at the Elks Lodge that you showed pictures of earlier. I find it hard to believe that things have continually down spiraled instead of improving. Thanks for sharing this.
Mark,
Paducah, Ky.
+Hunter Green i live over in metropolis
+danny miller sorry just now seeing this bro. We come over each year to the Ft. Massac Encampment. Love it. Great fun and food.
+Brian E Presley I was born in Mayfield btw. Yeah I know what u mean bro.
I lived in Cairo in the early 90s. This video brings back so many memories. When I lived in Cairo, the hospital was closed. I remember that most of the homes were older with basements (I'm not sure why because most of them flooded when the river rose so you couldn't really store anything down there). I remember seeing horseshoes on many houses beside the doors & having someone tell me that it was there to ward off evil spirits. I remember living on 36th street & having pet dogs that would always vanish, never to be found again. We went through 3 dogs before we just gave up having a pet (I secretly thought that someone was eating them). I remember going to the jr high school, with the principles being Mr. Chamberlain & Mr. Henderson, & the coach was Coach Baldwin. I remember that time that Mr. Henderson's car got egged @ the end of the school year. I remember living on 17th street. I remember that back road over by the river ( where they always had the club) & that particular piece of road that they kept sectioned off because they would fix it & it would just sink right back down. Someone said that the ground was cursed because that is where some black man was brutally murdered back in the day & the ground hadn't been right since. I remember waking up every morning to the smell of Westvaco (or the paper mill) & how it stunk so bad, you could smell it 15-20 miles away in Charleston Mo/Mississippi County. I remember living in Elmwood projects. Cairo was so rough back then. I still have some family that lives there. And not to mention those bridges that you have to cross to get from Kentucky to Missouri....I tense up every time I think about them. Every time I cross them.
There was something in the news in the last six months (mid 2015 to spring 2016) about the housing authority either being taken over or closed, I forget which, over property violations. Insects were one of the violations, and I would venture mold and other things.
I'm not sure which paper mill you are referencing, but the one just across the river in Kentucky recently shut down. Probably about 500 out of jobs.
I got lost driving threw Kentucky. When I asked for directions they told me the only way to get back on track was to travel threw Cairo. they all looked at each other in a worrisome kind of way. One of the men there said that the speed limit was 30 miles per hour and to drive 25. If you go one mile over they will pull you over and slap you with a $300 dollar ticket. This is because the only viable business in this town is a funeral home and the police station.
When all that is left is a police state, nothing will ever happen there again until that too is gone.
Maybe, but the same claim can be made about half the cities in the south, especially in Louisiana. So, a speed trap is not a phenomenon in America.
My parents are from Herrin, Illinois. When I was 4 or 5 (1958 or 1959), we stopped at a diner in downtown Cairo for supper. I remember being creeped out at the thought of living behind levees. I remember seeing the open gate to drive through, exiting the diner and looking to the right...
One way to throw some money at that town is use it as a location for zombie or post apocalypse movies.
I was just going to say they should film The Last of US here.
Jeff Darden i swear i was waiting for a zombie hop out in one of those buildings and go full attack mode on the cameraman
I remember driving through Cairo, and was shocked at the beautiful abandoned buildings.
You could make an awesome Walking Dead Intro with this area.
I drove through cairo last week but didnt stop. this video verifies what i thought the town has become
Cairo isn't a ghost town at all. It's just the "historic downtown" area that is largely made of abandoned buildings and empty streets. I guess since the downtown area is a decent size and the town is tiny, people think the entire city is empty. I think the population is about 2900 people and for the most part, everyone minds their own business. At least they did when I was there last week. My friend and I parked on a road near the train car and walked the streets. No one bothered us and the people we did encounter were fairly friendly. One random man even joked with us so there's no need to be afraid to get out of your car. Lol. Most of the traffic is on Washington and the downtown area is located off of 8th & Commercial/Commerce. It looked as though the rest of the streets were residential.
Awesome. I live in Reidland so we're not far from one another. We go to Ft. Massac each year for the encampment. Awesome times. Thanks again.
Are things really that bad in the states where whole towns are empty and just rotting away just crazy
+aaron wilson Other than the big cities, most of the towns and cities between the two coasts are dying.
+aaron wilson I believe the town was a victim of the Great Depression in the 1930s. There are ghost towns scattered all over the states some going back over 100 years. Most of them are victims of an obsolete or non-viable industry. Not a reflection the times today. It is only matter of time before an investor or investors try develop it.
Ben G
A you are a "half-full" person which is not a bad thing.
bg147 I do not see this near Boston. most have been bought and redeveloped. Homes near me are sold within less than a month on the market.
Ben G Yea, middle America is dead.
Agricultural technology and out-sourcing have driven the trend, I believe.
I lived in Cairo from 1985 to 1989 and it started to decline then. I went to Cairo Jr High and Cairo High, played basketball and ran track under Larry Baldwin and Mr. Woods. I lived on 25th St. This breaks my heart. Yolanda Young
I was just there on a mission trip, it's not a ghost town, there are just a ton of abandoned buildings!
Nice footage! Would never have dared to walk through the dark and damp parts of that old medical center by myself. Kudos!
This looks like the many videos of abandoned Detroit.
Cairo still has pretty good basketball teams in Jr high and high school. ...but they play ALL road games because no team will go there to play.
That guy was mowing the hell out of those weeds!
Brian Sterowski meanwhile I'm liking the hell out of the likes, literally. 667 likes now.
another neat fact in reference to the "how far from chicago?" comments...Cairo is farther south than the capital of the confederacy Richmond, VA.
The actual number is 372 miles. The ground almost always freezes each winter, in Chicago. It almost never freezes in Cairo.
Great location, I like the way you shoot your videos. Makes for great still shots. The silence at locations like this add to the mood. Thanks for another really good video.
I can say this, I live in Cairo as of now I have been for over 6 years. it's not a bad place at all, but it does have it's history is what I like about it.
Perfect setting for a zombie apocalypse movie....
This setting, and a thousand other choices just like it. How many zombie movies can the market support?
I love your channel.keep them coming.plz
All the people are just gone , very eerie !
Love this video. is there any chance of you going back and filming inside some of those abandoned houses you showed when you were driving around at the end of the vid?
Awesome videos, keep up the great work.
No dialog ? Would be nice to know about what is being played.
I was here yesterday. It's an eerie town with a largely dark, yet fascinating history.
I claim Cairo as my birthplace (hospital was called Saint Mary's Hospital at that time) and grew up there until I left for college in 1974. Yes, the town had it's share of racial tensions, but just like any non-urban metropolis, if there are no jobs, then the population will decline. This video is great for a jaunt through an abandoned building, but doesn't do justice for the rest of the town. The "downtown" is indeed a ghost town, but there are still good loving people that still call Cairo home. Without "high income" jobs and industry, there's a small tax base, so naturally the infrastructure is in need of repair. I still visit the town every couple of years. I have good memories of my time there. If you get a chance, walk the neighborhoods, visit St. Mary's park, view the levee system and open your eyes to the vast Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and last but not least, enjoy some of the best smoked BBQ at Shemwell's.
I enjoyed this video! Thank you!
WOW, just like Detroit ! What a pity... Great job on the vids you guys have got it !! It's like they say you eventually run out of other peoples money..
Thankyou for being silent. A group of people blabbing the whole time ruins this kind of footage.
is Cairo an Illinois version of Gary Indiana? and where's all the traffic?
+TheMostAwesomeMan242 Yeah it pretty much is. I've still never been to Gary though..
i'd think that gary is doing better than cairo.
TheMostAwesomeMan242 there's very little traffic. Unless you need to go to Kentucky, you just stay on I-57.
Little Egypt is southern Illinois's Detroit.
Wow! What an amazing place to go wandering and exploring. Thanks very much for this, its really fascinating and sort of spooky.
It is so terribly sad, I cannot go to such places. I can't shake the depression that follows.
Too bad the state couldn't use this for low income or homeless assistance housing
The risk of flooding makes it a bad place for that.
Your camera work is really good in this
Great video Great camera Keep up the good work..
I was born there!
I have been in Cairo several times, but I didn't know there were that many interesting abandoned places. I only saw a few. I guess I did not go down the right streets. I think I will be going there again soon.
In 2011 we stopped there on our vacation to southern IL. There was a shitty grocery store we got chips and soda at. We didn't go through much, but I remember how bad it was.
Town like that still has guns laying around gotta search that shit like fallout 4
11:07 as of march of this year that bus is still there
this has to be the largest abandoned community/town in the US that I have seen...sad and creepy.
It appears a large number of people left somewhat suddenly and recently (within the past 30 years.) That would make for a lot of buildings to demolish, but few tax dollars to do it with.
Backyard E. you guys do a great job at exploring & providing some background info. Watchn this mad me so sad for the ppl that lost so much+ I realized how much I miss my dad that traveled through that area weekly until he bc ill-stricken in 2011. He always gave me deep details of his travel experiences, he knew that area+ many more throughout country, but he knew I-57, like the back of his hand. PPL DON'T REALIZE HOW HUGE Il. is including Chicago area. Not every area is murderville or gang infested. There are so many good neighborhoods & outlining suburbs with prime real estate. My family is affluent, but worked hard and we continue to work hard&share W/underprivileged communities. I had no clue that the town of Cairo is basically obsolete. Yes, there were many racial issues there, but I won't say entire town was RACIST. I've been there many times but fortunately our interactions were positive. I subscribed to ur channel, keep up good work! Loved the cemetery and plantation home view. Be safe as well.
My cousin worked in Cairo for years and I've went through there when i went to lamberts (a really good restaurant) all you see is boarded up windows and like 3 stores.
Lambert's is great, just don't get your retina detached (it happened to someone in the news).
Good work, some big buildings for a town of 15,000, huge medical center. What were the buildings you went into?
This is perfect for The Last Of Us movie. Is it still available I would like to go in march.
when is that movie coming out?
2016 or so. Look it up.
If you wish to make a movie, you certainly can use Cairo as a location even without the poster of this video. You may even be able to get tax credits & other help from the Illinois Film Office. www.illinois.gov/dceo/whyillinois/Film/Pages/default.aspx
Can I play a zombie?
For an abandoned building it is actually pretty clean. Like no condoms or junk food laying around.
+April West review your facts before you make another comment. You are the living definition of a racist.
*****
Who was blaming the whites? WTF are you on about? If you want to be a real racist post your real photo and name and don't hide behind your PC.
*****
Yep you are definitely useless trash. Go throw yourself off a cliff.
Flooding is the real reason this town failed.
a interesting vid. Do you know why Cairo is this way today? How/why does a town lose over 2/3 of their population? A little history is always welcomed by us viewers. One little complaint / suggestion to you and really every other urban explorer out there - and trust me I watch all of them from everybody. All you guys (and gals) need to invest in a decent flashlight - ones that offer a wide angle lens on it to really light up an entire room when you enter it. This will not only improve the quality of your vids but also (and more importantly) for your protection. You are exploring places that are falling apart - with possible flooring that has holes in it or is ready to plunge down to the next level at the first step. The floor are covered with debris that could be dangerous and you never know when a place might have animals or snakes in it that could pose a threat. You need to be able to really see what you are getting yourself into. Oh and always carry the flashlight on you. You're getting ready to head into a dark basement and you realize that your flashlight is in the car. Good vid. Want to see more - but be carefull out there.
Ted Martindale No jobs,the main reason.
Ted Martindale The entire town was evacuated in 2011 due to severe flooding, then more flooding in 2013. What little population that town had left, mostly abandoned it because of property destruction from the flooding.
+Barry Lawhorn, +Rhyannon Paragorn Thanks for answering my question. Thats the one thing I love about the urban explorer vids I like to know the backstory - whether its a whole town or a single home I want to know why? I see houses that are stuffed full of personal belongings and I want to know why or what was the reason for ppl to just up and leave all their stuff. That kind of info just makes the vids even more interesting.
Ted Martindale During the Civil War Cairo was a major supply center and even a base for Ulysses Grant because of its position at the border with the Confederacy and its location on the Mississippi. However, because of that position, Grant forced much of the river trade between the west and east to pass through Chicago because Cairo was so close to the fighting. That was the first hit. After the war, Cairo recovered because the steamboat industry was in full swing and Cairo was at the perfect position to take advantage of the river traffic. This is where the second and final hit came at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Near the end of the 19th century a railroad bridge was constructed over the Mississippi diverting rail traffic away from Cairo. This was not severe because most rail lines still passed through Cairo. A second rail line was constructed over the Mississippi in the early 20th century though that practically erased Cairo from the rail network. Cairo still held on due to the steamboat trade but this industry died in the 1930s as the automobile became the primary mode of transportation for Americans and highways were constructed. Sure the I-57 federal highway passes through Cairo and connects Missouri to Illinois across the Mississippi but Cairo didn't adapt to this. No rest stops or highway minded gas stations were constructed. So the steamboat industry collapsed because cars and rail were the most preferred way to travel which meant Cairo was finished as a steamboat hub and Cairo had no facilities to support highway commuters. With nothing to offer Cairo just dried up as a result
Ted Martindale If you're curious about the history of something there is the internet. A google search usually pulls-up some type of information. Yes, this was a troll. But I will also add that if you're looking for history on UA-cam through these videos, you've come to the wrong place. Some people do their research when making their videos. Others turn the history into fiction. Don't always believe what you see to be fact.
I believe at 8:47 while walking thru the hospital's hallway, there is a EVP captured prior to you entering the room on the left. It sounds like it says "Hey!" and it doesn't appear to come from outside, but more or so from down the hallway as the voice sounds almost echo-ish.....
Holy crap hey from a ghost and he wasn't lookin for one lol
Yeah that was inside
I saw in a previous comment reply that you had to run from the Authorities, but got off with a warning. That makes me wonder, is it illegal to go inside of the buildings?
Zednought Wastelander It is trespassing and you can get in really big trouble with the law doing this. Even face jail time.
yeah there pretty rotten buildings they can fall at any second
Zednought Wastelander Of course it's illegal but it's not too serious. At most you might get a $20 ticket as long as you're not breaking and entering or vandalizing. We actually had permission for the hospital though
BackyardExploration Could I ask how you obtained permission? I'm curious to explore these buildings. Also: Thanks to everyone else who has replied to inform me. Thank you all so much!
+Zednought Wastelander say please and thank you
What kind of camera did you use? I'm impressed of the quality as there is no visible shakiness?
its a beautiful old town been going there my whole life, its a shame folks dont love it enough to revive the old buildings. Gem theatre woulda been a good start
Wow, really Is a Ghost Town..Sad indeed, Good job and Thanks for sharing..Stay Safe..
When did that Southern Medical Center close? It looks fairly modern from the outside..I'd guess it shutdown maybe in the 1980's-1990's?
There's actually an abandoned high school in Cairo as well.
you are brave going in there by yourself...would not be me..and Im supposed to be a man lol
There was a large group of punk kids back in 2009 that wanted to turn this place into a squatters paradise and create a punk scene there. They failed. I met one guy named Zach and he said it was so lonely and depressing that he just started to go to church just for human interaction.
Same with Detroit. Anarchists are trying to create safe areas, amongst the crime.
The decline and fall of the American empire...
I am just curious as to when this footage was filmed? I see it was uploaded in Aug of 2013. Is that around the time you visited/recorded it?
damn...i was just in southern ill and wish i would have seen this video a few weeks ago. thanks. i have some cool stuff on my channel. peace from colorado
This video was uploaded on my 16th birthday, i drove to Cairo that day to get my license
Condolences.
incredible performance in low light! what camera are you using? are you also employing some sort of steadicam?
Funny place the U.S so many abandoned buildings and so many abandoned people as well!
Tom Leykis Fan We are in the closing stages of agenda 21.
Many murders and suicides come from those people whom society has thrown away. When they have nothing left to lose, they lose their will to survive.
I live in cairo and my mom was born in cairo
What do you do when you accidentally come across someone in there shooting up?
Same thing is happening to Detroit as well....
May I ask, when you go through these do you just do it for the adrenaline rush? Or just for the history and walk in with a gun?
Zach Potter A bit of both. I actually got a pretty good adrenaline rush here. Cops saw us in one of the buildings so they took a couple units to the front of the building and got on the loudspeaker for us to come out. We jumped out of a second story window on the backside and ran 100 yards to our car. We started to pull away and I see a cop car flooring it in reverse down the street. Next thing I know we're boxed in by cop cars and being asked to get out of the vehicle. We got off with a warning so it was totally worth it lol
Rode my motorcycle through Cairo one time, quite the depressing little town. Like something out if a scary movie. Heard the state wanted to flood the town a couple yrs back
That may actually be cheaper than maintaining the levees. Give people the option of selling, at a reasonable rate. If they cannot get enough for their properties to buy or build elsewhere. They will not go.
I've been there before . We took a wrong turn and ended up in whoville but it's called "future town" and in like 1919 or somewhere around that there was a bad flood but it's weird everything looks old and then you see a house that someone could be living in and then their next door neighbors house looks like it was in a wind tunnel / fire it's weird and there's still people walking down the street
I went there a few years ago and the reason this town is dying is because of the river flooding. As it is located where the Ohio and Mississippi revers meet. When you come into town you go through the levee that has flood gates that drop down to the road when it floods.
I drove through here few months back. Creepy town
You need a better flashlight
great video though
Does anyone know where the cemetery is a town that size would've had to have had a large one when I'm in Paducah visiting relatives I always go to Cairo exploring and I can't find the cemetery not even on Google earth any help would be appreciated I love history thanks
Are you sure there were any cemeteries, at all? Most the land is below the level of the flood plain, which would create the same problems with cemeteries as those in New Orleans.
This part where you are exploring the hospital looks like resident evil bio hazard and the zombies are waiting to jump out at you
Lots of these little towns rotting away, looks like a good size population lived there at one time. People have moved off to the cities or are dieing off. Yet those people in the city say that they are running out of space. Of course some new industry would have to take hold and bring money in. Also most all the buildings are a complete loss, just no money to knock them down.
+Luke Schaefer (WebLuke) Yep. Small U.S. cities that once were thriving off of industrial jobs are now dying out as most of those jobs have moved overseas. Small farm towns are still doing decent, though.
Too true. Yet, if you were to put an industry in such an area, they would soon want to charge you high taxes, in order to raze the abandoned structures and bring up the standard of living, from decades of debt and decline.
yeah that's creepy I just want to buy it and make it a crazy zombie movie.💀
The piece at 2:11 looks familiar. I think I might have been in there. That was before I was into UE.
I'm from Southeast Iowa....I'm going to see how far Cairo is from me .ROAD TRIP!!
zumbagirly72 You might want to look into Picher, Oklahoma as well
zumbagirly72 Come pick me up We'll do the trip together and catalog just how many are in this condition. We might be surprised to see the numbers are nearing 90%. 90% of the land is repossessed and outright claimed by .gov. You are familiar with AGENDA 21?
why does it show up on GPS if its a ghost town? is it still this way?
It isn't completely a ghost town. About 2,800 people still live there. Its population has dropped because of a combination of the Interstate bypassing it which killed businesses and floods (it sits right where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet).
does it flood alot there
No the water just get high
Basements are frequently unusable, being filled with water. If you are lucky, you might have built your building on a hill exceeding 15 feet, thereby avoiding the water.
i'm from southwestern il and i was just wondering if that bad ass house at the very beginning is in cairo?
Melissa Smith Yup, I think you can get tours of it and the neighboring old mansions. One has a pool on the roof
BackyardExploration
That has to be the coolest house I've ever seen. It would be amazing to decorate for Halloween. So perfect.
Cairo. Not the one in Egypt. The metropolis. Gateway to the Mississippi from the Ohio, and to Paducah, KY. Declining in early '70s, business ruined by completion of I-57 bypassing it, by Missouri-Mississippi River floods 1993, and by Ohio River flood 1997. Never recovered.
+Verner Hornung Destroyed by race riots in 60s. Hate killed that town. Family lived there through it all.
James LaMarr - A little before my day, so I can't say. Thanks for telling me. But why didn't race riots destroy Kansas City, St. Louis, or Cincinnati? If not so big as Detroit's, all three nonetheless had shooting and buildings burnt.
+Verner Hornung I've read the book, "The Cairo Story", self published by a black pastor in the 70's, but I suspect Cairo was already dying long before then...the racial tensions were not helped by the declining economy.
Racial tensions, present since 1900 caused a slow decline until around 1980, until no one was left. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo,_Illinois#Lynchings
I don't see any windows broken in that first place.
ARE these abandoned towns for sale?
I suspect they are. Beware though, you have to supply all your own security, and you likely have to travel more than 30 miles to get supplies, beyond the minimum. There is also no employment available and traffic has all been diverted away from the streets, to the interstates. Almost no one ever comes off the interstates or the bridges, to frequent any business that may exist in Cairo.
Cool stuff ❗️👏👍🏼
Not really a "ghost town" if there are still pigs around to bother people.
Good one.
Why is this town called a ghost town when people still live there? Are they ghosts?
Environmental hazards in the three buildings on the property include frayed asbestos-wrapped piping, floor surfaces containing asbestos, drums and small containers of unidentified flammable and hazardous chemicals, and medical equipment containing small amounts of mercury. At least two underground storage tanks will also be removed.
yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/0C30C7E0D9F4243F852572C00053B009
You forgot the most common...rusty nails.
what happen to this town?
Why ur cam goes static for a split sec at 7:39? arrent u afraid to see a ghost in one of these buildings u explore XD
BackyardExploration, you need a better flashlight for videos. Otherwise, thank you.
benchkey Nah, just needed a camera with better lowlight performance. I have one now, but this video was shot with a $200 point and shoot along with a lot of my other sketchy videos where I didn't want to bring my nice gear
5 years ago 2008 crunch got them?
How far is Cairo from Chicago ?
+vanessa velazquez Really far lol... complete opposite corners of the state
It's 7 hours
+vanessa velazquez It's extremely far. Your'e closer to Memphis and Louisville there than you are to Chicago
372 miles. It rarely gets very cold in Cairo. The ground doesn't freeze, unless it is an unusually cold winter.
May I ask if you get permission to walk in and film in these buildings or do you just walk in?
Sometimes we get permission, but usually no. We got permission to explore the hospital at the end of this video. That was after a couple cops kindly asked us to leave the office building shown before.
this is amazing...I want to go here...
In my town there was a abandon two story house but its not safe and the destroyed it . It would've been cool though
And now there basketball team is ranked 6th in the state this year