There's still a small population of ~1600 there. But Cairo had a host of issues; losing the water trade, flooding, levees that saved the town but cost it's view, and racial tensions that drove people and business away. A lot of small towns hoping to be big one day got hit by one or two of these challenges, but 3-4 will cause the near ghost town Cairo has become.
I was born in Cairo in 1957. Only lived there till 1966 then moved to Chicago. We always pronounced it Care-oh. It was still a nice town when we lived there. Thanks for the nice video. It's really sad and I haven't been there since 1978. I still want to go there and see it again. My house is still there and being lived in.
Let me welcome you to a term it's called an accent . Also when yall say (worsh) instead of (wash). For the most part Illinois people speak just like people from Kentucky Tennessee and Alabama except for a few different words that y'all use. And the correct pronunciation is Cairo not Karo. But I completely understand it's an accent yall have.
@@robd1859 How about when people pronounce it Ky-ro, as in Cairo, Egypt? I grew up in Cairo, NY, and sometimes people would pronounce it Ky-ro - that always bothered me.
@@robd1859 Let me welcome you to a term, it's called tact. What may start as a dialectical quirk can quickly become the accepted pronunciation by more than just the residents. There's a little town in Idaho called Lava Hot Springs, and if you don't pronounce the a's in Lava the way you say the "a" in "cat," you will be corrected.
Thank you for the great detail view of the GEM theater. I bought the player piano/pipe organ from it back in the 1970's The theater was nice looking at that time. So sad to see it in such a state as it is not. I have been in the theater pipe organ restoration field for fifty years and see so much of this now. Thanks again for you video.
Was just checking out its history on Cinema Treasures. Did you get a Wurlitzer type instrument or pianola or Fotoplayer? All those are rare and can be valuable in working order.
My wife and I just happened to drive through Cairo in December of last year, which was kind of jarring when you aren't expecting it. We immediately thought of your channel. When returned home a week later we drove though again and took some photos. Got a great shot of the dilapidated town sign. So glad you went there and thanks for the great history lesson.
Cairo reminds me of Centralia, PA before all the brush took over where the buildings were. I don't know if anyone mentioned earlier that a Livery is a place where horses were stabled. Just to let you know, the coal furnace in the caboose was to provide heat to the conductor. Thanks for posting this interesting video and history of this town.
Centralia still has a lot there, brush kinda clears out in the winter, I just visited there, and you can walk around and really take in all the history and unforgettable event that took Centralia off the map.
@@scottdavidson526Centralia, yes the fire is still burning and will probably burn for many more decades. I just walked around there and did an update video on that - also there is Laurel Run in PA which has been burning wayy before Centralia but it doesn’t get as much recognition there since not the entire village was wiped out.
Spent every summer of my childhood in Cairo. It is hometown to my mothers side of the family. My grandparents and both sets of great grandparents(their parents) were all from Cairo. I returned regularly til in my thirties to visit my grandmother who lived to be 94. My grandfather worked for the paper, typesetter, editor, my grandmother and aunt both worked at the 1st National Bank. (I have a little coin box bank still from there🙂) When my grandmother retired from the bank she went to work at the library for many many years. Decades. In that time she studied our genealogy, I believe because of the pelithera of information in that library spurned further delving. When I was little, most the roads were all still brick. I could write volumes on Cairo. I have the fondest of memories. My great grandfathers planted the church there. I have so much to share about Cairo. Its been twenty one years now since I have been back. We could have kept the house there just by paying delinquent taxes...it was hard to do but we all let it go 😓
What a nice tour of a tragic place. It's surreal seeing the contrast of decaying buildings in one part and actively preserved mansions - Cairo has not quite flatlined yet.
At 23:33 AF & AM is the abbreviation for 'Ancient Free and Accepted Masons'. The cornerstone indicates that Cairo Lodge is no 237 on the register of lodges under the Grand Lodge of Illinois, and they still meet at a small venue elsewhere in the city.
There's at least one "bright spot" in Cairo's history... It was the home of a man named Ray Butts. He invented and manufactured a guitar amplifier called The EchoSonic. It was a key part to the sound of early Rock n Roll. The 30 watt tube amplifier had a tape operated echo unit built into it's cabinet. Stars like Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Carl Perkins, Luther Perkins and most notably Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley's lead guitar player in the Sun Records days) all had them... Along with numerous other great Rockabilly and Blues Artists of the early and mid 1950s. Mr. Butts also designed guitar pickups for the Gretsch Guitar Company. So I suppose that bright spot is that if it weren't for Cairo being where it is, and Ray Butts not living there, modern music as we know it might sound incredibly different.
Great video and even growing up not far from this town I never knew much more than the decline of people and jobs. I’ve been wanting to revisit it and see the beautiful old homes before they’re gone. Great videography!! Thank you!
I am a lifelong Illinois resident and of course have heard about Cairo's very violent and bloody past. It's just unbelievable how much violence there was over skin color! There are earthquakes in that area as well. It is right on the New Madrid fault line. I've never been there but have always wanted to go see it for myself so thank you for this video!
Glenn Zimmerman - Egyptian. The Murphysboro Paving Brick Co. made ... Egyptian. The Murphysboro Paving Brick Co. made bricks for many cities including Orlando Fl., the. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the ...
🇺🇸🇬🇧Hello from old London Town, uk Devin, Just a quick note to say how very impressed I am by this superb video. It’s cultural and historic value to America but also to humanity on the whole is so very significant and that significance will continue and grow more and more as time passes. The story of that once great town should be a warning to modern day America - and the world in general - if we can’t get along and share the places we live then NO one will and we ALL lose out. The Eclipse just adds to the melancholy and special atmosphere of the town and your sympathetic respectful narration is to be commended. Im particularly impressed by the respect you showed the unknown unfortunate person who called that ruin for sale a “home”. Well done Devin, a very special peace of work - I have instantly subscribed and will be rabbit hole-ing the rest of your content at another time. Bravo 👌👏
Wow, I used to go through this town once a week working for my grandfather when I was 12-14, that was '75-'78 and it looked a whole lot better then. We used to post billboards in that area and there used to be a restaurant there where you could get 5 hamburgers for $1.
Great video again Devin! I love the concept of giving some more info about the history of the object. The fortunously location of Cairo, lying in the middel of nowhere, protects it against the spay-can idiots and vandals that too often just vandalise these objects. Only in the theatre I saw some tags. For the rest even the streetlights were, in majority, still all there.
I think a definition of depression could be what people felt who had their heart's desire be the revitalization of Cairo. Every crumbling metropolis has such romantics. When best intentions fail the worst situations, another contemporary Cairo is born.
We were so close to going to Cairo for the eclipse! We ended up on the side of the road next to a beautiful field of yellow flowers near Goreville!! Did you see lots of eagles and hawks gliding around when you were there?? We all remarked that the birds were so amazing that day!!
I remember in about the year 2000 maybe 2001, I was contracted to put a "radio station translator" on the air very near Cairo. It was for a religious station. A "radio station translator" is simply a reception of the original station being re-broadcast at much lower power on a different frequency. I am a broadcast engineer. Anyway, I was not met with any love from the remaining people in Cairo. To them, I was an outsider and was clearly not welcome. I was met several times with very angry folks wondering what I was doing. I told them what I was doing and why I was there and for the most part they were fine with it. I haven't been back in years. If you visit, in my opinion, be prepared. I was working on the outskirts of this town and I was not welcomed then. Just my 2 cents!
I rode with a guy who got on the boat in Cairo once. Had to get another guy off late at night, boat was going to be at the cityfront around 0030-0100. Said he got there around 0000 and it didn't take 15min for an officer to pull up with spotlights on and ask him what he was doing. When he told the cop he was getting on a boat he responded with, "Oh you're a towboater? You don't need to be here after dark man. You need to leave and come back when the boat gets here." When he told the cop the boat was about there he just ended up staying and watching after him and the guy getting off. Damn when you tell a towboater this is too sketchy of a place for you that's a real sketchy place.
@@richard_honer reminds me of a story my dad told me...he was a photographer in the 1970s and was on a trip to New Orleans, he was taking pictures of the above ground tombs in the city and it started to be near sunset the cemetery custodian saw him and came and asked him what he was doing, said he was just taking pictures and the guy told him it was almost dark and it wasn't safe for him anymore, my dad said he would leave after a couple kore pictures... the guy reached down into his bucket and pulled out a pistol and said "no, you don't understand... it isnt safe here." Needless to say my dad left immediately.
Years ago I had this fantasy of getting a horde of people to buy up property in Cairo and turn it into a sort of Mecca for Art & Music. No investment groups, venture capitalists or holding companies; just like minded individuals owning their own slice of the pie, a Mayberry for punks! Start a community owned trust and refurbish that Gem theater into a concert venue. The whole thing about the confluence of the rivers is awesome!
That would've been awesome crust punks ,free music your own little punk community, sadly even something unused would bring some big wig that want to shut it down. Up the punx!
You speak of "refurbish" the Gem. How on earth are you going to refurbish all that decay? It would need to be demolished, and a new one built in its place.
A Livery is what planes are painted up in, a Livery (Live-ery) like the building here is a stable for horses, so it's an old place from the times of horses riding down the street. They also sold tac and equipment for horses and carriages, etc.
I urge any idealists here to not get any ideas about turning this place around. This place is effed legally, bureaucratically, politically, culturally, socially, and traumatically. For every person that would love for Cairo to succeed, there are 750 people that would like to see you fail. And some of those 750 will happily take your money while pretending they want you to succeed.
The Book "Cursed In Cairo" lays it all out quite well. Even the electric company is run as a co-op with absurdly high rates for businesses that choke out any hope of development.
Any place can rise from the ashes with determination and hard work. Are you saying that the properties are being held by people who are purposely allowing it to rot?
My mother's family was from southern Illinois. My grandmother talked about Cairo like it was cursed. Maybe it is. Maybe folks should just let it disappear.
Cairo, Detroit (making a bit of a comeback), east st.louis, and that’s about it for towns like Cairo. It takes a very special kind of corruption and incompetence to make a town like Cairo. So it isn’t that common thankfully… yet
Amazing the Red Velvet Curtain is at least partially still in tack and portions of it still in their original place to be pulled back for the beginning of the many movies once shown in the building.
Ive drove through that town on several occasions.. it literally looks like something out a post apocalyptic movie!... this town is the prime example of what economic decline looks like ... once the river trade ended it ended the town as well and not to mention the town floods periodically
Just got foot note. I couldn't find the original artist via Google search to the opening song. However the artist for his time is a very popular artist of his time. The name of the song is: When you drop off At Cairo, Illinois in 1916 Vaudeville songs by an artist by the Name of Billy Murray of his time. Much love from the Detroit metropolitan area. History will make us a mature nation as time goes on. ❤❤❤ Love all out there!
Sad and fascinating history! Those brick pavers stamped Egyptian, were made by the Egyptian Brick Paving Co or Murphysboro Paving Brick Company. Awesome Explore
One of my favourite explores so far :) I appreciate the historical voice lent to the video as well as a total eclipse, lol. It was sad to see the ruins of a once promising city, but I'm glad there are still folks who love it and call it home.
Three things... love your videos. I am glad you included the history. We need to know about these things so we don't repeat it. Finally, as a fan of historic movie palaces I now want to find out more about the Gem. Typically anything built before the talkies did have records synched up to the picture or an organ. Also, you are correct in that the space in front of the stage was for an orchestra. Some old movie theatres have an organ below that comes up from the floor (Tampa Threatre in Tampa Fl is ab example.)
Came to say something similar. The top picture in this image. alexander.illinoisgenweb.org/cox/1938view/IMG_0746.jpg Also this image. i.pinimg.com/564x/bd/e4/b7/bde4b7d81cd0bad5d4109f7c2d176b0a.jpg
What a lovely idea of videoing your wonderful countrys history and presenting the many derelict properties abandoned so long ago. It is so very sad to see them in such a bad state of decay and falling down. Once that place would have been so busy with people visiting the stores and the cinema. R.I.P. the city of Cairo.
AF & AM stands for "Ancient Free & Accepted Masons". This lodge is still chartered and active there in Cairo. They have a website. I'm a Freemason myself.
Excellent work. Sensational history lesson - I didn't know the history of Cairo. I'm very impressed - professional approach to the subject. Big wow! You're the best!
Great job, Devin. I’m not local to the Cairo area, but I’m a lifelong Central and Southern Illinoisan who lives about 2 and a half hours away from Cairo. Devin pronounces Cairo, IL the way that I was taught it was pronounced and the way that I have always heard others pronounce it in real life here in Illinois which is Kay-Ro. It’s not pronounced the same as its namesake in Egypt. There are several towns in Illinois that are not pronounced the same as their namesakes such as Athens, New Athens, Berlin, New Berlin, and San Jose. Interestingly, I have seen several online posts by people who claim to be Cairo locals both here and elsewhere stating that it’s locally pronounced as Care-oh. In the film clip of the marching women, they seem to be chanting Care-oh. Perhaps, there are alternate local pronunciations, similar to how there are people from Missouri who pronounce it as Muh-zur-ee and Muh-zur-uh. I’m going to continue to call it Kay-Ro like Devin. Don’t fret over the people calling out your pronunciation of Cairo, IL, Devin, as most Illinoisans pronounce it like you did here. I can also confirm that Cairo is in Alexander County and not Alexandria County as stated by another poster here. Their county website confirms this: alexandercounty.illinois.gov/
I have been to Cairo. My mother and grandparents once called it home. I haven't been there since 2000. I also used to live in New Athens, IL. Pronounced New AY-thens. I'm now near the Quad Cities, and there's Orion, Pronounced ORE--ee-un, and Rio, Pronounced, RYE-o. I always called Cairo CARE-o. Go figure
Yeah, not just Illinois either. Montpelier (mont-peel-eyer) or Versailles (ver-sayels). And the New Madrid fault (New MAD rid). 🙃🙃🙃🙃 Can't be too European here!
Wow what an interesting place to catch the eclipse! You’d think the location itself would be advantageous for some kind of industry.. even historical tourism.. but it seems like it’s haunted by its past.
There’s something very haunting about abandoned building. But an entire town, WOW, So sad. I’ve seen a lot of your videos, this one by fat is the best of them all. You did your homework and gave us a great history lesson. The eclipse was cool thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work.
Thoroughly enjoyed this! Professionally done with appropriate music to accent scenes. Thank you for all the work you put into this video for us!! I'd never get to see this on my own, so appreciate this tour. 😍👍👍
Was literally just in Cairo a couple weeks before you were, walked around a little bit and man it's one of the saddest cities I've seen outside of the lower mississippi delta and middle appalachia. Great vid!
Also - during flood season in 2011, the city was allowed to flood extensively to spare farmers who's land was in the designated flood zone - the city was found expendable cuz, well, the tensions of the 60's still percolate.
I like abandoned places more than thriving ones. Something about no people that’s refreshing. The peace and quiet alone, I think you get my drift. Ever go to Pitcher Ohio?
A great presentation of the abandoned areas of Cairo. Thank you so much for making this video! I'm glad you also went to Millionaire's Row! I always see a few large churches that look like they are still active in Cairo. Is there any chance you could see the interior of those churches and maybe also the school that is still in operation sometime and show us? I look forward to any future videos of Cairo.
I live in London and I’m amazed at this place it’s still very clean and tidy. We don’t have any abandoned places like this in the U.K.it’s over populated
It appears overpopuated but that is not really the case; too many people are concentrated in the major cities which is where all the jobs, shops, industries and transport are. There has to be incentives to encourage folks to live elsewhere.
Thank you for this video. Today to many don’t want to hear about history and are therefore doomed to repeat its mistakes. Please continue the good work.
This was amazing! Better than the documentaries i watched in High School and College! Awesome job as always! Perfect narration, use of old footage and mixed in with how the town looks today! Keep up the amazing work. Always look forward to a new vid of yours! 👍🏼
The Gem Theater was built 1910 burnt and rebuilt twice and closed 1978. About 900 seats. Now gutted. Surprised to see it was equipped with early platter film feed and take up system 21:26 There was some major federal funding in the mid '90s to early 2000s which resulted in some partial renovation to the entry foyer, marquee etc, but to no avail as it never came to any use. It was donated to the council before the grants. When you see photos of the street-scape around the Gem in the 1940s and 1960s its hard to believe it is the same town.
What's up Devin. As again, your video does not disappoint. Keep on outdoing your video with each new one. I really enjoy your video's and content overall. You are the best at this exploration stuff. All the best for your future endeavors! Much luck and good vibes!
Great video. Lifelong IL resident (though at the other end) and i learned a lot. It must be heartbreaking for those left in Cairo (and all the other Midwest & rust belt towns that have fallen by the wayside).
Thank you so much for sharing! I appreciate that you shared some history of the area in the beginning, it was like a documentary. Thanks for all the time spent making this video!
awesome video. funny enough that youtube recommended this to me because i was in cairo for the eclipse as well, literally across the street from where you filmed this 😆
Loved the video!! While You were filming the eclipse on top the levy there was a vertical metal bar that "crossed" one of the parking curbs on the ground and it made a perfect shape of a cross. 😊 Im not really religious, but that was pretty neat.
This is common in southern Illinois, especially around Champaign-Danville, Illinois. There are several ghost towns right before & around Catlin Illinois, that were wealthy back when the railroads & Coal mines were at its peak. There are tons of abandoned turn of the century mansions that have been abandoned. They are every where around that area, many on the same streets. They are still so beautiful, but not in tip top shape. We couldn’t believe how mansions are all over there & abandoned.
This was quite enjoyable to watch. HOWEVER, I heard several non-standard pronunciations of the town's name. (My mother was born in Cairo, and my parents met and married there; I visited several times as a youngster and have been correcting pronunciations of the town name. The song at the head of the piece pronounced the name a K-Eye-ro. That's the city in Egypt. You called it at least once as Kay-ro. That is a Southern pronunciation. The correct, non-Southern pronunciation is Care-oh. The county name is Alexandria (not Alexander as shown on one mural panel). There was once a delta at the confluence of of the Ohio and Mississippi, hence the connection to Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. My great-aunt Eunice once owned and operated the Po' Boy's Market on the main drag, and my late aunt Elizabeth lived in the town her entire adult life - that's how I know that the former delta became, after landfill, Fort Defiance Park. She passed in the late 1980's.
I'm new to the channel. Thank you for sharing this stuff that I would never see in my lifetime if it wasn't for people like you, that have huge balls to go out there and explore this stuff. I really hope your armed when you're out here alone? Just because you never know. I look forward to watching some of your older videos on the channel. This is very sad to see. Whole towns just decrepid and pretty much shut down because nobody gives any of the businesses any business anymore. That's happening throughout the US due to internet shopping too. You see a lot of old stores just disappearing and it's sad.
I used to drive a truck OTR and would often pass through Cairo, I always wondered how it became a ghost town when it seemed to me like somewhere that should still be active with all the travelers that went through there. I'm so glad i found your video it was very interesting and the solar eclipse was definitely a plus!
We got a history lesson, a geography lesson, a total solar eclipse and a ghost town explore. A pretty good way to spend part of my Sunday evening.
no kids activity
@@coreydempsey4660 my last name is Dempsey too! 😊
I subscribed because of that. Good history lessons. Not just filming empty buildings.
Barkett was punk sissy. Wife was loose when drunk
There's still a small population of ~1600 there. But Cairo had a host of issues; losing the water trade, flooding, levees that saved the town but cost it's view, and racial tensions that drove people and business away. A lot of small towns hoping to be big one day got hit by one or two of these challenges, but 3-4 will cause the near ghost town Cairo has become.
I was born in Cairo in 1957. Only lived there till 1966 then moved to Chicago. We always pronounced it Care-oh. It was still a nice town when we lived there. Thanks for the nice video. It's really sad and I haven't been there since 1978. I still want to go there and see it again. My house is still there and being lived in.
Let me welcome you to a term it's called an accent . Also when yall say (worsh) instead of (wash).
For the most part Illinois people speak just like people from Kentucky Tennessee and Alabama except for a few different words that y'all use.
And the correct pronunciation is Cairo not Karo.
But I completely understand it's an accent yall have.
@@robd1859 How about when people pronounce it Ky-ro, as in Cairo, Egypt? I grew up in Cairo, NY, and sometimes people would pronounce it Ky-ro - that always bothered me.
@@robd1859 Let me welcome you to a term, it's called tact.
What may start as a dialectical quirk can quickly become the accepted pronunciation by more than just the residents. There's a little town in Idaho called Lava Hot Springs, and if you don't pronounce the a's in Lava the way you say the "a" in "cat," you will be corrected.
Thank you for the great detail view of the GEM theater. I bought the player piano/pipe organ from it back in the 1970's The theater was nice looking at that time. So sad to see it in such a state as it is not. I have been in the theater pipe organ restoration field for fifty years and see so much of this now. Thanks again for you video.
Was just checking out its history on Cinema Treasures. Did you get a Wurlitzer type instrument or pianola or Fotoplayer? All those are rare and can be valuable in working order.
The instrument is a Reproduco. It has a dual tracker bar so as one roll is playing the other can be rewound and changed out.
My wife and I just happened to drive through Cairo in December of last year, which was kind of jarring when you aren't expecting it. We immediately thought of your channel. When returned home a week later we drove though again and took some photos. Got a great shot of the dilapidated town sign. So glad you went there and thanks for the great history lesson.
Cairo reminds me of Centralia, PA before all the brush took over where the buildings were. I don't know if anyone mentioned earlier that a Livery is a place where horses were stabled. Just to let you know, the coal furnace in the caboose was to provide heat to the conductor. Thanks for posting this interesting video and history of this town.
That place still has that underground fire. Who knows when, if ever that will end.
@@scottdavidson526 I've been through there a few times before all the graffiti. It's a shame what happened.
Centralia still has a lot there, brush kinda clears out in the winter, I just visited there, and you can walk around and really take in all the history and unforgettable event that took Centralia off the map.
@@scottdavidson526Centralia, yes the fire is still burning and will probably burn for many more decades. I just walked around there and did an update video on that - also there is Laurel Run in PA which has been burning wayy before Centralia but it doesn’t get as much recognition there since not the entire village was wiped out.
I've seen many abandoned towns, but this one really breaks my heart. 😞
It is truly heartbreaking, isn't it?
Hello fellow Wisconsinite.
I blame Blacks
Spent every summer of my childhood in Cairo. It is hometown to my mothers side of the family. My grandparents and both sets of great grandparents(their parents) were all from Cairo. I returned regularly til in my thirties to visit my grandmother who lived to be 94. My grandfather worked for the paper, typesetter, editor, my grandmother and aunt both worked at the 1st National Bank. (I have a little coin box bank still from there🙂) When my grandmother retired from the bank she went to work at the library for many many years. Decades. In that time she studied our genealogy, I believe because of the pelithera of information in that library spurned further delving.
When I was little, most the roads were all still brick. I could write volumes on Cairo. I have the fondest of memories. My great grandfathers planted the church there. I have so much to share about Cairo. Its been twenty one years now since I have been back. We could have kept the house there just by paying delinquent taxes...it was hard to do but we all let it go 😓
Great presentation of the history here - thanks for putting this together
It is refreshing to see that a youngster can still be interested in real things...thanks for sharing!
What a nice tour of a tragic place. It's surreal seeing the contrast of decaying buildings in one part and actively preserved mansions - Cairo has not quite flatlined yet.
Yup, I'd say there's still a heartbeat, albeit a weak one
Thanks for this. What’s left of the town is unsettling…it’s like looking at a dead body. Just sadness and devastation.
At 23:33 AF & AM is the abbreviation for 'Ancient Free and Accepted Masons'. The cornerstone indicates that Cairo Lodge is no 237 on the register of lodges under the Grand Lodge of Illinois, and they still meet at a small venue elsewhere in the city.
True but someone is still paying the electric bill for the larger lodge so they must be actively looking after it I reckon.
There's at least one "bright spot" in Cairo's history...
It was the home of a man named Ray Butts.
He invented and manufactured a guitar amplifier called The EchoSonic.
It was a key part to the sound of early Rock n Roll.
The 30 watt tube amplifier had a tape operated echo unit built into it's cabinet.
Stars like Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Carl Perkins, Luther Perkins and most notably Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley's lead guitar player in the Sun Records days) all had them... Along with numerous other great Rockabilly and Blues Artists of the early and mid 1950s.
Mr. Butts also designed guitar pickups for the Gretsch Guitar Company.
So I suppose that bright spot is that if it weren't for Cairo being where it is, and Ray Butts not living there, modern music as we know it might sound incredibly different.
What a story, thx for sharing!
Mr. Butts was a cheeky fellow
This video is worthy of the History Channel- it was so interesting, sad and amazing all at the same time!
It’s probably better than todays History channel
Great video and even growing up not far from this town I never knew much more than the decline of people and jobs. I’ve been wanting to revisit it and see the beautiful old homes before they’re gone. Great videography!! Thank you!
That is where Huck Finn was always trying to get to
Jim.
@@egilskallagrimsson2941 both
your style & editing is unmatched.
Check out the Proper People. This guy here is, in fact, matched and maybe even beaten.
I am a lifelong Illinois resident and of course have heard about Cairo's very violent and bloody past. It's just unbelievable how much violence there was over skin color! There are earthquakes in that area as well. It is right on the New Madrid fault line. I've never been there but have always wanted to go see it for myself so thank you for this video!
Glenn Zimmerman - Egyptian. The Murphysboro Paving Brick Co. made ...
Egyptian. The Murphysboro Paving Brick Co. made bricks for many cities including Orlando Fl., the. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the ...
I like the crackle in the intro. It's quite nostalgic. I remember mama playing those 78s back in the day before radio.
Agreed the music had me transfixed.
🇺🇸🇬🇧Hello from old London Town, uk
Devin, Just a quick note to say how very impressed I am by this superb video.
It’s cultural and historic value to America but also to humanity on the whole is so very significant and that significance will continue and grow more and more as time passes.
The story of that once great town should be a warning to modern day America - and the world in general - if we can’t get along and share the places we live then NO one will and we ALL lose out.
The Eclipse just adds to the melancholy and special atmosphere of the town and your sympathetic respectful narration is to be commended.
Im particularly impressed by the respect you showed the unknown unfortunate person who called that ruin for sale a “home”.
Well done Devin, a very special peace of work - I have instantly subscribed and will be rabbit hole-ing the rest of your content at another time.
Bravo 👌👏
Beautiful reply!
Wow, I used to go through this town once a week working for my grandfather when I was 12-14, that was '75-'78 and it looked a whole lot better then. We used to post billboards in that area and there used to be a restaurant there where you could get 5 hamburgers for $1.
How strange to see an entire town with no residents. Interesting. Thanks, Devin
There are still people living there. He’s showing all the empty buildings. He did say 1700 people still live there.
I have two friends who live there, it isn’t exactly empty but is pretty sparse.
All the towns in southern Illinois are mostly small towns with populations around 200-3500, except Marion, Carbondale & Murphysboro.
Town is still pretty active. Most of the abandoned buildings are in the historical downtown area, residents live else where.
@@HollyCranfan 1700 as of 2020, four years ago. I have no doubt that the population number is less now.
Great video again Devin! I love the concept of giving some more info about the history of the object. The fortunously location of Cairo, lying in the middel of nowhere, protects it against the spay-can idiots and vandals that too often just vandalise these objects. Only in the theatre I saw some tags. For the rest even the streetlights were, in majority, still all there.
You offer so much in one video. Very in depth and full of information I greatly appreciate a UA-camr who puts this much effort into their content.
I had no idea about Cairo. I live in southern Indiana and I'm so saddened by this. Thank you for telling this story.
That are some beautiful street lights.
I think a definition of depression could be what people felt who had their heart's desire be the revitalization of Cairo. Every crumbling metropolis has such romantics. When best intentions fail the worst situations, another contemporary Cairo is born.
We were so close to going to Cairo for the eclipse! We ended up on the side of the road next to a beautiful field of yellow flowers near Goreville!! Did you see lots of eagles and hawks gliding around when you were there?? We all remarked that the birds were so amazing that day!!
I remember in about the year 2000 maybe 2001, I was contracted to put a "radio station translator" on the air very near Cairo. It was for a religious station. A "radio station translator" is simply a reception of the original station being re-broadcast at much lower power on a different frequency. I am a broadcast engineer. Anyway, I was not met with any love from the remaining people in Cairo. To them, I was an outsider and was clearly not welcome. I was met several times with very angry folks wondering what I was doing. I told them what I was doing and why I was there and for the most part they were fine with it. I haven't been back in years. If you visit, in my opinion, be prepared. I was working on the outskirts of this town and I was not welcomed then. Just my 2 cents!
I wonder if when they found out you were doing work for a religious station, they decided to back off a bit and seem fine with it 🤔
I rode with a guy who got on the boat in Cairo once. Had to get another guy off late at night, boat was going to be at the cityfront around 0030-0100. Said he got there around 0000 and it didn't take 15min for an officer to pull up with spotlights on and ask him what he was doing. When he told the cop he was getting on a boat he responded with, "Oh you're a towboater? You don't need to be here after dark man. You need to leave and come back when the boat gets here." When he told the cop the boat was about there he just ended up staying and watching after him and the guy getting off. Damn when you tell a towboater this is too sketchy of a place for you that's a real sketchy place.
@@richard_honer reminds me of a story my dad told me...he was a photographer in the 1970s and was on a trip to New Orleans, he was taking pictures of the above ground tombs in the city and it started to be near sunset the cemetery custodian saw him and came and asked him what he was doing, said he was just taking pictures and the guy told him it was almost dark and it wasn't safe for him anymore, my dad said he would leave after a couple kore pictures... the guy reached down into his bucket and pulled out a pistol and said "no, you don't understand... it isnt safe here." Needless to say my dad left immediately.
Years ago I had this fantasy of getting a horde of people to buy up property in Cairo and turn it into a sort of Mecca for Art & Music. No investment groups, venture capitalists or holding companies; just like minded individuals owning their own slice of the pie, a Mayberry for punks! Start a community owned trust and refurbish that Gem theater into a concert venue. The whole thing about the confluence of the rivers is awesome!
Right! It’s an absolutely beautiful nature area with the rivers. So much potential. But so expensive to do. A real shame 😔
That would've been awesome crust punks ,free music your own little punk community, sadly even something unused would bring some big wig that want to shut it down. Up the punx!
It's Illinois for starters, maybe fill it with illegals on state and federal dollar, that'll last above 10 weeks
I doubt that it will be there much longer. The rivers are washing it away.
You speak of "refurbish" the Gem. How on earth are you going to refurbish all that decay? It would need to be demolished, and a new one built in its place.
Drove through there by accident about 7 or 8 years ago now. Deeply cursed place.
A Livery is what planes are painted up in, a Livery (Live-ery) like the building here is a stable for horses, so it's an old place from the times of horses riding down the street. They also sold tac and equipment for horses and carriages, etc.
I rewatch this video over And i even liked it better the second time around
Fireman 🔥🔥🔥👍
I think it is so sad. That once a populated city is now abandoned. Like the silence is deafening. It should be filled with smiling faces.
I agree, but keep things in perspective. St. Louis and Detroit lost a lot more people in a lot less time.
I urge any idealists here to not get any ideas about turning this place around. This place is effed legally, bureaucratically, politically, culturally, socially, and traumatically. For every person that would love for Cairo to succeed, there are 750 people that would like to see you fail. And some of those 750 will happily take your money while pretending they want you to succeed.
The Book "Cursed In Cairo" lays it all out quite well. Even the electric company is run as a co-op with absurdly high rates for businesses that choke out any hope of development.
Any place can rise from the ashes with determination and hard work. Are you saying that the properties are being held by people who are purposely allowing it to rot?
So true !
But sometimes the bad people die off .
Not worth gambling on thought .
The whole Country is getting that way.
My mother's family was from southern Illinois. My grandmother talked about Cairo like it was cursed. Maybe it is. Maybe folks should just let it disappear.
And worst of all, you'd have to live in Illinois! 😂
What an amazing video. From the context, the commentary, the visuals, the overall production is well done. Thank you for this video.
That actually has the potential of being revived into an awesome vacation spot
Nice explore that. Enjoyed the mix of history and walk arounds etc.
Great Video. YOU DO THESE ABANDONED CITIES VERY WELL. KEEP ON ! Thank You BE SAFE. ❤😊✌️
Please find more of those little towns, I love them, very interesting. Watching from the UK, always enjoy your explorations🙂
Cairo, Detroit (making a bit of a comeback), east st.louis, and that’s about it for towns like Cairo. It takes a very special kind of corruption and incompetence to make a town like Cairo. So it isn’t that common thankfully… yet
He can find similar towns all around Southern Illinois, the population is very small in most of these towns…. Many with only 200-500 people.
@@coloradorocky1298 That would be great🙂
Amazing the Red Velvet Curtain is at least partially still in tack and portions of it still in their original place to be pulled back for the beginning of the many movies once shown in the building.
Ive drove through that town on several occasions.. it literally looks like something out a post apocalyptic movie!... this town is the prime example of what economic decline looks like ... once the river trade ended it ended the town as well and not to mention the town floods periodically
I can remember when it was full of people. There was a burger shack close to the train bridge going to 57.
Love the format and the history. Great journey!
Just got foot note. I couldn't find the original artist via Google search to the opening song. However the artist for his time is a very popular artist of his time. The name of the song is: When you drop off At Cairo, Illinois in 1916 Vaudeville songs by an artist by the Name of Billy Murray of his time. Much love from the Detroit metropolitan area. History will make us a mature nation as time goes on. ❤❤❤ Love all out there!
This town had so much potential and in the end became another tragic case of urban decline.
Great tour.
“Urban decline” wtf.
Nothing urban about it.
Any town can be urban.... it once had 15k and the downtown would have been urban... it declined to what it is now.. nothing wrong with what he said.
Sad and fascinating history! Those brick pavers stamped Egyptian, were made by the Egyptian Brick Paving Co or Murphysboro Paving Brick Company. Awesome Explore
This was a fascinating explore!
Attacking firemen shows how the activists didn’t really care who they hurt.
Anarchy, violence and
Intense hatred.
One of my favourite explores so far :) I appreciate the historical voice lent to the video as well as a total eclipse, lol. It was sad to see the ruins of a once promising city, but I'm glad there are still folks who love it and call it home.
Three things... love your videos. I am glad you included the history. We need to know about these things so we don't repeat it. Finally, as a fan of historic movie palaces I now want to find out more about the Gem. Typically anything built before the talkies did have records synched up to the picture or an organ. Also, you are correct in that the space in front of the stage was for an orchestra. Some old movie theatres have an organ below that comes up from the floor (Tampa Threatre in Tampa Fl is ab example.)
The Maxine Shoppe, 8th Street was a women's clothing store that was still operating during the thirties and forties.
Came to say something similar. The top picture in this image.
alexander.illinoisgenweb.org/cox/1938view/IMG_0746.jpg
Also this image.
i.pinimg.com/564x/bd/e4/b7/bde4b7d81cd0bad5d4109f7c2d176b0a.jpg
This makes me wish I lived in a Victorian house, I love the architecture so much!
What a lovely idea of videoing your wonderful countrys history and presenting the many derelict properties abandoned so long ago. It is so very sad to see them in such a bad state of decay and falling down. Once that place would have been so busy with people visiting the stores and the cinema. R.I.P. the city of Cairo.
Excellent as usual love the history gives it life
AF & AM stands for "Ancient Free & Accepted Masons".
This lodge is still chartered and active there in Cairo. They have a website.
I'm a Freemason myself.
Oil stove in the caboose.
Coal had been out for a while.
Had one like this in my boyhood home.
Excellent work. Sensational history lesson - I didn't know the history of Cairo. I'm very impressed - professional approach to the subject. Big wow! You're the best!
Great job, Devin.
I’m not local to the Cairo area, but I’m a lifelong Central and Southern Illinoisan who lives about 2 and a half hours away from Cairo.
Devin pronounces Cairo, IL the way that I was taught it was pronounced and the way that I have always heard others pronounce it in real life here in Illinois which is Kay-Ro.
It’s not pronounced the same as its namesake in Egypt.
There are several towns in Illinois that are not pronounced the same as their namesakes such as Athens, New Athens, Berlin, New Berlin, and San Jose.
Interestingly, I have seen several online posts by people who claim to be Cairo locals both here and elsewhere stating that it’s locally pronounced as Care-oh.
In the film clip of the marching women, they seem to be chanting Care-oh.
Perhaps, there are alternate local pronunciations, similar to how there are people from Missouri who pronounce it as Muh-zur-ee and Muh-zur-uh.
I’m going to continue to call it Kay-Ro like Devin.
Don’t fret over the people calling out your pronunciation of Cairo, IL, Devin, as most Illinoisans pronounce it like you did here.
I can also confirm that Cairo is in Alexander County and not Alexandria County as stated by another poster here.
Their county website confirms this: alexandercounty.illinois.gov/
I have been to Cairo. My mother and grandparents once called it home. I haven't been there since 2000. I also used to live in New Athens, IL. Pronounced New AY-thens. I'm now near the Quad Cities, and there's Orion, Pronounced ORE--ee-un, and Rio, Pronounced, RYE-o. I always called Cairo CARE-o.
Go figure
Yeah, not just Illinois either. Montpelier (mont-peel-eyer) or Versailles (ver-sayels). And the New Madrid fault (New MAD rid). 🙃🙃🙃🙃 Can't be too European here!
Another brilliant vid. Thanks for making it.
A livery was a place in the 19 th century to rent horses wagon's ect, to "store horses overnite, to rest , groom or feed , water ect..
Thank you so much!! This was fascinating.
Wow what an interesting place to catch the eclipse! You’d think the location itself would be advantageous for some kind of industry.. even historical tourism.. but it seems like it’s haunted by its past.
There’s something very haunting about abandoned building. But an entire town, WOW, So sad. I’ve seen a lot of your videos, this one by fat is the best of them all. You did your homework and gave us a great history lesson. The eclipse was cool thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work.
Thoroughly enjoyed this! Professionally done with appropriate music to accent scenes. Thank you for all the work you put into this video for us!! I'd never get to see this on my own, so appreciate this tour. 😍👍👍
one of the best videos of cairo, sure wish it could come back to all its glory...very sad
Really appreciate all the effort that goes into your explores & video edits. They don’t go unnoticed. Thanks Devin - hope your wrist is ok! 😀✌🏼
Was literally just in Cairo a couple weeks before you were, walked around a little bit and man it's one of the saddest cities I've seen outside of the lower mississippi delta and middle appalachia. Great vid!
You have a knack for making complex topics accessible. Keep it up!
Also - during flood season in 2011, the city was allowed to flood extensively to spare farmers who's land was in the designated flood zone - the city was found expendable cuz, well, the tensions of the 60's still percolate.
I loved this, thank you
I like abandoned places more than thriving ones. Something about no people that’s refreshing. The peace and quiet alone, I think you get my drift. Ever go to Pitcher Ohio?
That's Picher, Oklahoma.
Brave to walk around that shithole, I'm surprised the Ford Dealer in that city can keep from getting stolen from
A great presentation of the abandoned areas of Cairo. Thank you so much for making this video! I'm glad you also went to Millionaire's Row! I always see a few large churches that look like they are still active in Cairo. Is there any chance you could see the interior of those churches and maybe also the school that is still in operation sometime and show us? I look forward to any future videos of Cairo.
I live in London and I’m amazed at this place it’s still very clean and tidy.
We don’t have any abandoned places like this in the U.K.it’s over populated
It appears overpopuated but that is not really the case; too many people are concentrated in the major cities which is where all the jobs, shops, industries and transport are. There has to be incentives to encourage folks to live elsewhere.
I know 🤣🤣 if we did have places like this they wouldn’t be sending them to Rwanda they would be sending them here
@@uk-martin4905i live in Southport next to Liverpool in the north, it’s an overpopulated shit hole trust me
Thank you for this video. Today to many don’t want to hear about history and are therefore doomed to repeat its mistakes. Please continue the good work.
Your videos never disappoint.
Awsome explore very good job loved it
This was amazing! Better than the documentaries i watched in High School and College!
Awesome job as always! Perfect narration, use of old footage and mixed in with how the town looks today! Keep up the amazing work. Always look forward to a new vid of yours! 👍🏼
The Gem Theater was built 1910 burnt and rebuilt twice and closed 1978. About 900 seats. Now gutted. Surprised to see it was equipped with early platter film feed and take up system 21:26
There was some major federal funding in the mid '90s to early 2000s which resulted in some partial renovation to the entry foyer, marquee etc, but to no avail as it never came to any use. It was donated to the council before the grants. When you see photos of the street-scape around the Gem in the 1940s and 1960s its hard to believe it is the same town.
What's up Devin. As again, your video does not disappoint. Keep on outdoing your video with each new one. I really enjoy your video's and content overall. You are the best at this exploration stuff. All the best for your future endeavors! Much luck and good vibes!
Places like this that were once beautiful always make me sad to see decayed.
Great video. Lifelong IL resident (though at the other end) and i learned a lot. It must be heartbreaking for those left in Cairo (and all the other Midwest & rust belt towns that have fallen by the wayside).
Wow nice exploration. Ty
Thank you so much for sharing! I appreciate that you shared some history of the area in the beginning, it was like a documentary. Thanks for all the time spent making this video!
Greetings from Canada! Looks like Cairo would have been such a cute city back in the day. What a shame to see what it has become.
awesome video. funny enough that youtube recommended this to me because i was in cairo for the eclipse as well, literally across the street from where you filmed this 😆
Thanks for the History lesson. Being raised in Florida I was Not aware of the Unrest in this small town
Loved the video!! While You were filming the eclipse on top the levy there was a vertical metal bar that "crossed" one of the parking curbs on the ground and it made a perfect shape of a cross. 😊 Im not really religious, but that was pretty neat.
I should explore this part of Illinois since I live here
This is common in southern Illinois, especially around Champaign-Danville, Illinois. There are several ghost towns right before & around Catlin Illinois, that were wealthy back when the railroads & Coal mines were at its peak. There are tons of abandoned turn of the century mansions that have been abandoned. They are every where around that area, many on the same streets. They are still so beautiful, but not in tip top shape. We couldn’t believe how mansions are all over there & abandoned.
Allerton, Fairmont, Homer, ect are towns with all these mansions that have been abandoned.
Illinois is literally insane now with taxes - it's one of the reasons we moved 6 years ago to WV.
This was quite enjoyable to watch. HOWEVER, I heard several non-standard pronunciations of the town's name. (My mother was born in Cairo, and my parents met and married there; I visited several times as a youngster and have been correcting pronunciations of the town name. The song at the head of the piece pronounced the name a K-Eye-ro. That's the city in Egypt. You called it at least once as Kay-ro. That is a Southern pronunciation. The correct, non-Southern pronunciation is Care-oh. The county name is Alexandria (not Alexander as shown on one mural panel). There was once a delta at the confluence of of the Ohio and Mississippi, hence the connection to Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. My great-aunt Eunice once owned and operated the Po' Boy's Market on the main drag, and my late aunt Elizabeth lived in the town her entire adult life - that's how I know that the former delta became, after landfill, Fort Defiance Park. She passed in the late 1980's.
The song pronounced KyeRoh andthe song said "Illinois". Guess it's different with each person?
Potato potHAto 😜😂@@jenniferpeters9552
I'm new to the channel. Thank you for sharing this stuff that I would never see in my lifetime if it wasn't for people like you, that have huge balls to go out there and explore this stuff. I really hope your armed when you're out here alone? Just because you never know. I look forward to watching some of your older videos on the channel. This is very sad to see. Whole towns just decrepid and pretty much shut down because nobody gives any of the businesses any business anymore. That's happening throughout the US due to internet shopping too. You see a lot of old stores just disappearing and it's sad.
So sad that this town fell the way it did. Thank you so much for sharing the history of Cairo, Illinois
If the Blacks had not been there Cairo would still be a normal Midwestern town
Love places like this. Great documentation 👍
I used to drive a truck OTR and would often pass through Cairo, I always wondered how it became a ghost town when it seemed to me like somewhere that should still be active with all the travelers that went through there. I'm so glad i found your video it was very interesting and the solar eclipse was definitely a plus!
It became a ghost town because of Blacks
This very cool video 📸 but sad ,.came over here to this channel from RNK all day.
What an interesting history. Sad, but interesting.