This is the town of Cairo Illinois. Once a bustling river town, now the downtown is a ghost town. The main highway still has a lot of houses and other buildings but for the most part they are pretty shabby.
There are a few nice houses here and there, but the deserted downtown is shocking. Actually, driving through on the main highway in town, I would not have even found the downtown if I did not have a GPS and an inborn curiousity about downtowns. One could very easily drive through town and not even know there was a downtown waterfront.
The town is on a peninsula between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It is between Cape Girardeax, MO and Paducah KY.
Looks like it would be an ideal location, and it was during the steamboat era. But when steam boats went out of business, it seems the city did not adjust. The last significant employer shut down 10 years ago, and the nearest place of jobs is 50 miles away. The last reason for anyone to stop at all, a truck stop on the Interstate, shut down two years ago. I talked with a couple of people. They seemed resigned to the fact that their town is drying up and blowing away.
The people seemed very nice, friendly and helpful.
Lots of things happened to cause Cairo to fade and the others to flourish.
One was the demise of the steamboat, and that barge traffic on the rivers was never based in Cairo for whatever reason.
There's still lots of barge traffic on those rivers.
Another is the civil rights movement. Some business owners shut down rather than employ and or serve people of other races.
Another contrast is the water wall by the river. Most river towns of any size have a wall that protects them from flooding. Cairo has one. It is unpainted gray cement. Functional, but not very pretty.
Towns like Cape Girardeax, MO, and Paducah, KY, were once contemporaries of Cairo. Today they are larger and bustling - prosperous even. Lots of river traffic, lots of tourists and such. The three cities are not far apart. Easy to see all three in one morning. Paducah to Girardeaux is about 50 miles as the crow flies, with Cairo in between and a bit to the south.
As of 2000, there were 3,632 people living in Cairo. The population was at its high in 1940, at 14,407.
You could drive through Cairo and not even know about their waterfront or downtown. Not so Paducah or Girardeaux. There are lots of signs to make you aware, and to tell you exactly how to get there. Don't even have to check the map.
Another striking difference is their water wall. Paducah, and Girardeux have the same grey cement, but there are a lot of murals painted on them. The murals on their water walls make it worth the stop, if nothing else.
Paducah and Girardeax also have river front parks with lots of free parking. Girardeax even has free wifi in its park. Cairo has none of these things that I could see.
What is the difference then, between the cities? In the early 1900s all three were bustling river towns. Girardeaux on the Mississippi and Paducah on the Ohio river, and Cairo at the point where they meet. Geographically, it would make more sense for Cairo to be the regional hub. So why is it fading away?
One town stuck in the past, without much vision for the future, is fading into obscurity despite its resources. Ahem, two rivers. hmmmmm
Other towns not far away prosper with vision for the future, keeping up with the times and reaping the benefits.
What lessons could we learn here in Arkansas City, from these cities?
Below is downtown Paducah
