#cairo il

Quiet Disorder

(October 2020)

This block is the site of the 1909 lynching of Willie James, a black man accused of raping and killing a young white woman.  His rope broke during the hanging, so the angry mob riddled his body with bullets, dragged him a mile to the scene of the crime,  then set his body on fire.  All of this took place in front of 10,000 cheering spectators, of whom many who participated in this horrific event were women.  Commercial Ave. now sits vacant, the victim of a civil rights boycott that lasted three years during the early 1970s as blacks refused to shop in the stores where shop owners wouldn't hire them, eventually driving the white business owners out of business.  The city never recovered economically after that event.  In its heyday during the 1920's Cairo's population peaked around 15,000.  Recent census figures report only 2,800 residents, 60% of which are black living at or below poverty level.

Willie is sitting on the exact spot where 100 years to the day Willie James, a black man, was dragged from his jail cell by a raging mob and lynched in front of 10,000 cheering spectators. He never got the fair trail for the murder he was accused of. There weren't any witnesses or evidence to pin him to the crime, just a terrible racial hatred.

“Black them boots and make them shine, Goodbye and a goodbye. Black them boots and make them shine, Goodbye, Liza Jane.” “Going down to Cairo, with a goodbye and a goodbye. Going down to Cairo, goodbye Liza Jane.” “I ain’t got time to kiss you now, Goodbye and a goodbye. I ain't got time to kiss you now, Goodbye, Liza Jane ..."

Riverlore Mansion

(October 2020)

c.1910 Fixer Upper on Millionaire’s Row in Cairo, IL Under $30K

3000 Washington Ave, Cairo, IL 62914     $29,900 Fixer Upper OHU50K NOTES History Cairo was once a thriving riverboat town with gorgeous mansions along Millionaire’s Row. Today, the town has fallen on hard times and crime stats are high. Even so, if a buyer has the moxie, this house could be a great one to restore. Washington Avenue (Millionaire’s Row) is where you will find gorgeous…