The Cairo bulletin., 1907-08-25
CITY Of CAIRO
IN EARLY DAYS
EXCELLENT PEN PICTURE BY
ONE WHO KNEW IT WELL IN
THE FoRTiEs--LEvEEs ONLY
STREETS IN HIGH WATER.

|
The following very good pen pic
turo Of Cairo IN 1919 Is from i'm Of,
Issue Of the Cairo Telegram and Il
worthy OF place in the scrap book
Cairo. Ill.,, Dec 2i 80.
Editor Telegram. Yonr ,lescrip
ton OF Cairo thirty years ago In you
holiday number is quite interesting
Suppose give you pen picture o
Cairo. as Z appeared to me in Oct
A. d. IS4S, and for several year,
thereafter, on my frequent calls as
clerk of the steamer Lehigh. ther
making regular trips from Pittsbura
,lvia Cairo and st. Louis to the head
Iof navigation on the Illinois river
IOttawa anil Peru AT that period
There were only few houses in the
town and they were built on posts,
Inst on the inner side Of the levees .
Ithe top Of the levees being the only
lravigabe streets during high water
| The fiat inside the levees was un-
der cultivation as corn fields or gar
den patches and not lot nor foot
Iof ground could then be purchased
lowing to contention between the
stockholders and bondholders. which
lasted for some years and of course
retarded the growth OF the city.
This | learn from Mr. n. H. Candee
whost father and uncle were both
agents for the Land CO., and settled
here III lS4k
The most conspicuous house In the
city in 1912. was the Cairo City Foun-
dry. long one-story brick, located
near where tho stone depot now is.
IL my memory serves me right 1t was
white washed and the black letters
OF the sign, Cairo City Foundry"
could be read from the steamer when
coming down the bend long dis
tanee up the Ohio. The only other
building of prominence was the Cairo
hotel on the noint a large white
frame, with Wide galleries OH both
The Ohio and Mississippi fronts. Mr.
iCandee's father moved into this hotel
An 1914 and was proprietor OF 1t for
some years, The steamboat channel
then. was close to the point. and fol-
lowed elose To the Mississippi levee
Tor several miles up the river. Be
tween the Cairo City Foundry and the
Cairo hotel, were little groups OF
buildings and vacant spaces between.
Along shore outside the Ohio ievee
were large number Of aatboats I'M
which much business was done, as
several of them were regular dry
goods grocery and notion stores. and
many of them occupied as residences.
When I first saw them In Oct. AZ,
the water was low and many of these
boats rested on the bank on the shore
side and We're propped up to n level.
IN 1871 during extreme high water |
hey were all alioat and In line with |
The permanent. land temporary struc-
Inrts) on the inner side foming a |
narrow avenue along the top of the
k wee which was then barely visible.
while the corn fields and garden
catches were nonvisible Cairo was
hen truly city OF extensive water L
riyileges and magnificent distances.
In the fall Of 1914 we happened to
and at Cairo on presidential election.
lay. the candidates being Henry Clay
md James X Polk On the levee lay Il
large pile OF Turks Island salt,
brought from New Orleans by Gin
'innati steamer and to be reshipped
o st. Louis. Our boat took Il on
'oard and as we had plenty of leisure
We concluded TO go mp town and vote
or President Squire Shaughnessy
vas judge of election. We voted UNI
er the marine law then existing. and
ach voter had co swear that he was
river man by profession. and had
lot voted elsewhere that day, and
,as 81 years of age and citizen of
he United States. Twenty-six of our
Ulcers and crew voted: % OF them
or Henry Clay and we heard after
ards that our vote had given the
own to Clay. which otherwise was
cannot now youch for
he majority, but II there Is in Cairo
ebay a man who voted at that cleo
ion would like 10 meet him. am
Inclined to think that | am the only
me in Cairo now who voted at that
lection.
Respectfully yours.
fAAfI-C aHNTNC 4