USA > Illinois > Alexander County > Alexander County profiles, a compilation of essays on Alexander County history > Part 3
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The latest piece of equipment purchased was the American La France in 1960. This new engine is also located at No. II Fire Depart- ment.
Today, the Cairo Fire Department is modern and efficient. These two stations, Fire Departments No. I and No. II, besides the Auxiliary Fire Department, have played a very important part in this city. Num- ber One station on Washingon Avenue consists of a two-story brick building, the first floor devoted to housing equipment and the second floor furnishing living accomodations for the firemen. This station has been in use since 1900 and is well located to protect property in the central business district.
The Number Two Station at 31st and Sycamore, is also a two- story brick building. It has been in use since 1909 and is well located to protect the adjoining industrial area and the uptown residential district
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Now, operating at Fire Station No. I is one Quad truck loaded with 2,500 ft. of 21/2" fire hose, 250 gallon booster water tank, 34" booster hose with 300 ft. in length, and 300 ft. of ladders, ranging in length from 8 to 50 ft. They also have numerous small tools such as axes, hammers, wrenches, crowbars, and others that are necessary. Besides this truck, this station is equipped with the Emergency Unit which contains resuscitators, cutting torch, mobile light appliance, and other small tools used in rescue work.
The Auxiliary Fire Department, another arm of the fire depart- ment, found its beginning in 1941 when J. W. Mason became Fire Chief of the Cairo Fire Department. The members of this organization were trained under the supervision of the regular fire department and Chief Mason.
In April, 1943, the Auxiliary Department was equipped with two trucks and two 500 gallon trailer pumps. Through the efforts of Chief Mason, this Auxiliary Department was located at 1711 Commercial Ave.
LUMBER-A MEMENTO TO CAIRO'S HISTORY By MARY JANE DUNKER
Introduction
In 1890, Cairo was one of the great lumber centers and distribut- ing points in the United States. Previous to that time, it had but two wholesale dealers. No lumber was yarded here, and the hundreds of mills south and west looked to St. Louis as their only market. With all the forests around Cairo, and her location at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, it was soon realized that Cairo would be the perfect spot for lumber industries.
Once brought to the attention of lumbermen, firm after firm sought location here; and in a short time Cairo had become one of the leading lumber centers of the country. It was to reach a high point in our city in later years.
Operation
Forests were plentiful within the radius of 50 to 75 miles of Cairo. The logs were cut there and delivered to the mill by river. The logs were loaded on the barges and delivered to the mill for sawmilling and veneering.
When the logs were lifted to the mill, they were rolled off the car- riage and went to the dragsaw at which point they were cut into lengths required for the manufacture of the products on order.
After they had been cut, the bark was removed from the veneer logs in preparation to cut the veneer.
Both the lumber and the veneer products were then taken to the lumber and veneer yards for air drying. There the lumber required 90-100 days to dry to make it ready for the manufacture into products. The veneer, being much thinner, required only four to ten days air drying, according to the weather conditions.
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When it had dried, it was ready for movement to the mill to be cut to size into the manufactured product.
There were many lumber companies in Cairo during the early 1900's, and as the raw materials were becoming short, some of the companies were moving to the south where the timber supply was adequate.
Had these companies practiced reforestation as is done now, the timber supply in this area would have been sufficient for operations of lumber plants as they were during earlier times.
Important Lumber Companies
The Weis-Peterson Box Company, an Iowa Corporation, came to Cairo in 1896. J. P. Peterson was the founder. In 1917 it became an Illinois Corporation, and the name was changed to Peterson-Miller Box Company. J. W. Peterson, the son of J. P., succeeded his father in 1929.
This company, being privately owned, employed 200 to 250 men. They were extensive manufacturers of whitewood cold storage, sawed and veneer egg cases, box shooks, and beer boxes. Their location was at North Cairo. In fact, the Weis-Peterson Box Company produced all small package box shooks with the exception of lock corner boxes.
The Singer Manufacturing Company, who also operated great manufacturing establishments in Scotland, New Jersey, Indiana, and Canada, established a wood working factory in Cairo in 1881. The en- terprise had proved in all ways so satisfactory to the company that the company decided to make this point its main place for supply of wood materials in the rough to be used in the manufacture of the fa- mous Singer Sewing Machines.
The buildings occupied the space between Thirty-fifth and Thirty- eighth, Commercial Avenue and Sycamore streets, and it extended to the Ohio River, where it had a logging and wharfage front. This com- pany gave employment to 300 hands the year round (during its peak, 1200 employees), and millions of feet of Mahogany, Walnut, Maple, Oak and Gum were converted into veneer table tops and bands.
The Chicago Mill and Lumber Company operated a colossal plant between Sycamore and Ohio Levee Streets. With their employment of 700 to 800 men and boys, they manufactured lumber, veneer, box shooks, washboard material, sail stock, and kindred articles.
A leading concern in its line and one that took an active and highly effective hand in the "Gateway City's " commercial expansion, was Kelly Brothers Lumber Company, located on Commercial Avenue With the large planing mills and lumber yards, they manufactured window sash and doors, blinds, and other building materials, and were dealers in these products. They also sold Rubberoid roofing, along with paints, olls, glass, and hardware. Kelly Brothers could have fur- nished a home!
Few business firms in the City of Cairo were better known to the general public throughout the entire country than the Vehicle Supply Company, whose products traversed the most remote section and were handled in nearly all the large cities. They were manufacturers of wagons, buggy and agricultural woodwork, double trees, single trees and neck yokes, ironclad and unironed, wagon and buggy material, finished or in the rough. Their large plant, including factory, ware- houses, lumber yard and offices were located at 3rd and Jefferson streets with mills at Wickliffe, Ky.
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Though only established in 1904 at Cairo, this business grew to such large proportions and their trade so wonderfully increased that they thought it would later be necessary to find a new, larger location.
Conclusion
The above lumber centers were only a few of the many great lum- ber industries in Cairo.
Today most of the veneer and box industries have relocated closer to timber supply. Demands have changed, and paper boxes are tak- ing the place of the wooden box; but the memory of large lumber and veneer box operations still remains in the hearts and minds of those who knew them.
THE STREET THAT NEVER SLEPT By PATTI DUDLEY
Introduction
I will try to review for you in this essay a bit of the excitement, glamour, intense activity, great movement of traffic, and the luxury for the times, of Ohio Street in Cairo during the middle 1800's and early 1900's.
A review of Ohio Street, known from Cincinnati to New Orleans, will in some measure also give you a small glimpse of the gracious, to a great extent formal, but easy-going type of living found in the com- munity at this time. This grace and charm can still be felt in sections of the city, and the attitudes of the people of Cairo today.
Halliday Hotel
The "Halliday" was one of the main buildings on Ohio Street. There was a saying that everything around the Hotel was built to com- pliment it. The Hotel was first opened in January 1859 under the name of the St. Charles Hotel. The Hotel changed hands only two or three times during its existence. In 1880 the Halliday brothers bought the Hotel. They completely redecorated the entire building, creating a friendly and luxurious attitude throughout. The rooms were large and tastefully decorated to create a home-like atmosphere, and had sitting rooms and baths, which was unusual in Hotels during this period The Hotel had been closed during the alterations, and was repopened in July of 1881 as one of the finest in this part of the country.
The "Blue Room" was decorated with blue walls and blue drapes. This room was a delightful place for small meetings with service equal to that in the main dining room.
The Main Dining Room, opening off the large lobby, had tables set with fine damask cloths and napkins, the finest china, crystal and silverware. The waiters were well trained Negroes who were very proud of the excellent service they gave patrons of the Hotel. All of the waiters wore white coats, dark trousers, and the required linens necessary for their trade. The Headwaiter at the Halliday was Alonzo Locke. Everyone up and down the river knew Alonzo Locke, and made it a point to stay at the Halliday whenever they could be
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served by him. Just before the Halliday burned, in the early 1940's, Alonzo moved to Memphis and went on to gain an even better reputa- tion as Headwalter at one of the establishments there.
In the Bar, which could be entered from the river side or through the Hotel Lobby, General Grant sat on only one particular bar stool where he could look out on the river. To honer him, the Bar was named the Grant Bar. Also a white circle was painted on the floor around his favorite bar stool, and a star on the bar top. The bar it- self was of hand carved, fine grained, solid mahogany.
There was also a Barbershop in the Hotel. Many of the people of Cairo went to get their hair cut there by "Buck," a Negro barber. One of our neighbors, a most gracious person, Mrs. Fredrick Grieve, got her first haircut there as a child.
Across the street on the river side, there was a park for the pleasure of the Hotel guests and the people of Cairo. One went up a few steps over the Levee wall into the park. Here were steps down to the river where there was a boat house with many pleasure boats. The entrance to the park was guarded by a pair of huge iron eagles, each perched on an iron ball.
There is a story that the Hotel was a part of the underground system of transporting slaves. Boats from the South would drop slaves off at this point, where they were hidden in dungeons beneath the Hotel until they could be taken by north-bound boats up river. During the Civil War, these dungeons were used to keep prisoners.
Springfield Block
The section between Sixth Street and Eighth Street was called the "Springfield Block." The main building on this block was the City National Bank of Cairo, erected by Governor Matteson and opened on February 7, 1855. The second and third floors were occupied by dis- tinguished Army Officers during the War. In 1861 General Grant oc- cupied the second floor on the North side of the building.
There was also a room reserved for the first Public Library, how- ever, there was only one shelf of books.
Further down the street was the Enterprise (Savings) Bank of Cairo. This bank was opened on March 3, 1869. These two banks merged in January of 1907 and became the First Bank and Trust Com- pany, which is presently operating on the corner of Eighth Street at Washington Avenue.
Gladhand Saloon
This saloon was typical of the times. The owner was John Ford, and he carried a pistol at all times to keep order of a sort among his customers. As it was told to me by a lifetime resident of Cairo who was there, when the customers did not listen to Mr. Ford, he simply "Drew his pistol and went Bang!" accounting for the four notches on it.
Ohio Street was truly typical of a river town, and perhaps, in some respects, retains some of the less violent atmosphere of the early days.
The Blue Front Restaurant
The Blue Front Restaurant was named this simply because they painted the front blue. Mr. Echenberger, the owner, threw the key into the river on the day he opened his restaurant for business, for he said, "Anyone is welcome at any time, day or night, in my res- taurant." Its reputation was known for miles around and continued to draw customers even when moved to Commercial Avenue until just a few years ago when the building burned down.
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The Planters Hotel
The fact to be most remembered about this Hotel was its beautiful lace ironwork. This ironwork was put any and all places on the build- ing where it would fit. Although it was not in operation as long as the Halliday Hotel, it was considered quite elegant in its day.
The Reed Foundry
Mr. J. B. Reed originally had his foundry in St. Louis. When he realized that Cairo was becoming a thriving city with both boat and rail shipping passing through it, he moved his business here. He had just become well established when the Civil War started, and he went into the business of iron-cladding the gunboats. This business was run by the same family at its original site until late 1940's or early 1950's. The original Mr. Reed built a large brick home typical of the period, beautifully finished with the finest woods, bricks and materials on 20th Street, which has just recently been torn down.
Train Depots
There were five railways in Cairo; the Big Four, the Illinois Cen- tral, Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, Missouri Pacific, and Baltimore and Ohio. One of the depots was on Second and Commercial Avenues for the Big Four. The other was in front of the Halliday Hotel where the remaining trains came through. If you were going to a nearby town. you would go to the red brick station on Washington Avenue where the Iron Mountain train came in. Ohio Street was built initially for rail- way traffic, but was paved with bricks on one side to accomodate bug- gies and wagons.
Pot Pourri
Completing the picture of Ohio Street one could find all the busi- ness necessary to a Commercial center such as Cairo was. This in- cluded Livery Stables, Grain storage bins, retail grocers, wholesale produce companies, whiskey warehouses, hardware companies, boat stores, other banks, a theatre, restaurants, and additional hotels.
Conclusion
The people of that day called Ohio Street the "Street That Never Slept." Many of the boats would be passing through at the wee hours of the morning and would stop at Cairo to replenish their supplies. Any time during the night or day one could go down to the Ohio Street and find activity and Cairo's famous "Southern Hospitality."
Ohio Street was indeed a wonderful place, and lives today in the hearts of many who were a part of its life. It was a cross-road of rivers and rails and took its place in history as part of one of the most thriving cities along the river.
GROWTH OF A CITY-HOW IT WAS MADE POSSIBLE
By PATTY ELIAS
The name Halliday is synonymous in Cairo, Illinois, with progress and enterprise.
The family consisted of five brothers and three sisters of which I shall talk about the brothers. They were: Captain William P. Halliday
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-master mind of the brothers, Major E. W. Halliday, Thomas Halli- day, Henry L. Halliday, and Samuel B. Halliday.
Since these brothers came to Cairo around the time of the Civil War, there were numerous business opportunities; and they took ad- vantage of them.
Henry L. Halliday along with his four brothers established the H. L. Halliday Milling Company in 1865, but his brothers left the business and he reorganized it in 1891. This company had a milling capacity of 800 barrels of flour per day which was sold throughout the south and exported to the West Indies and Europe. Along with the Milling Company, Henry Halliday erected the H. L. Halliday Elevator at Ohio Levee and Second Street. This elevator had a capacity of half a mil- lion bushels.
The brothers together founded the Cairo Electric Street Raliway Company, the Cairo Electric Light and Power Company, the Cairo City Coal Company, and the Ice Plant. The street car system had been en- joyed in Cairo since 1891. The cars ran from one end of town to the other, with fare for the round trip only five cents. The power plant furnished the motive power for the street cars, and also for shops, printing presses, small manufacturers, hotels, and private homes. This plant was one of the best equipped in the state. Hallidayboro, the name of their coal mines, was located near Du Quoin, Illinois; but their office was in Cairo on Ninth and Washington Ave., where the Cairo Hotal was. There was also an artesian well built by the brothers on Ninth Street to be used in regard to the coal. (This has long been capped over.)
Other enterprises included the H. H. Halliday Sand and Gravel Company which is still engaged in pumping sand from the Ohio River for building purposes. The material is shipped in large quantities to dealers in the surrounding area.
The Carey-Halliday Lumber Company had plant and yards ex- tending from Sycamore Street to the Ohio River, on which veneer and planing mills, and a large box factory were located.
The Halliday brothers, excluding Henry L., also had a part in the banking of Cairo. They founded the City Bank of Cairo, later known as the City National Bank, and the Enterprise Savings Bank, which was the first exclusive savings institution organized in Southern Illi- nois. These two banks were merged in January, 1907, and became the First Bank and Trust Company, which up until a few years ago be- longed to the Halliday family.
Another great credit to Cairo was the magnificent Halliday Hotel. This hotel was on a par with the best hotels in cities like St. Louis and Chicago. Admirably located, apart from other buildings. It afforded at one glance a view of three states and of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at their point of meeting to form the mightiest waterway of the continent.
William Parker Halliday, master mind of the brothers, acquired the title Captain from his early adventures on the Ohio River. Having come to Cairo before the war, Capt. Halliday saw multiple opportunities which he ameliorated. Success and prosperity were now growing be- yond his greatest expectations.
Even though Capt. Halliday did much for the poor of the com- munity without ostentation or trumpet blowing, he was known to be a vain man. One example of this was when he died of cancer, Sep- tember 22, 1899. Capt. Halliday wanted the people to remember him as
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a distinguished looking man. He requested that his casket be sealed and a huge portrait of himself placed by it. After his funeral, this picture was given to the Cairo Public Library where it is now seen hanging at the head of the staircase.
But this is not where William P. Halliday ends, in 1906 his daugh- ter, Mary Halliday and the Halliday family presented to the City of Cairo the Hewer in memory of her father.
Considered one of the ten best nudes in America, this statue by George Grey Barnard can be seen standing in Halliday Park near the site of the original office.
THE HISTORY OF CAIRO, ILLINOIS
By MONICA HAFFLY
At the southern tip of Illinois, in Alexander county, two of America's mightiest rivers, the Mississippi and the Ohio meet. Here stands Cairo, the picturesque, interesting and historic city.
The site of Cairo was first visited by French explorers in 1673. In the summer of 1702 a tannery was set up by Charles Juchereau de St. Denys, and at the same time a fort was built and named Va Bache. These were established about five miles north of the present site of Cairo.
There was an unidentified disease in 1703 which destroyed the ex- pedition, and in 1704 Va Bache was abandoned.
Although Alexander County was established March 1819, during the period from 1818 to 1836 Cairo, or what had been planned to be Cairo, was a mere wood-yard, at which the steamboats would land to take on wood for their furnace fires. Besides these, there were trad- ing boats, which, while trading very little at the point, found it a con- venient place to stop for a time.
Cairo was no settled until 1837, after an endeavor in 1817 by John C. Comegys to found a city, and when Comegys died, with him died the proposed city.
Cairo was incorporated in 1857 but did not adopt the commission form of government until 1919. December, 1853, may be said to mark the beginning of contemporary Cairo.
Perhaps the most commonly known facts about Cairo were the low elevation of the town's site, and about the Ohio and Mississippi rivers causing many floods. The highest known floods of Cairo were: the flood of 1844 when only the cross levee constructed by Mr. Miles A. Gilbert helped Cairo withstand the water. The flood of 1849 where the water first poured through the old break in the Mississippi levee till the water inside the levees became higher than the Ohio river, and finally reached such a height to overflow the Ohio levee in different places. The floods of 1858 and 1862 when the temporary levee did, in the year 1858, give way, and the city was submerged to an average of twelve feet, and whereas, the rivers did, in the year of 1862, rise to a height of fourteen inches above the levees, and the city property was greatly endangered.
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During the Civil War troops were sent to Cairo eleven days after the firing of the first shots in April, 1861. Cairo became a military camp, Fort Defiance, securing the confluence to the Union cause. A few hours delay and the Confederates encamped at Columbus, Ken- tucky, might well have invaded Cairo and changed the course of the outcome of the War.
The City Bank of Cairo was organized in the year of 1858 under the General Banking law of the state. And the First National Bank of Cairo was organized on the 24th day of July, 1863, under the Na- tional Banking Act of February 25, 1863. The bank continued to do business for many years, but its experience was somewhat varied. The First Bank and Trust Company of Cairo was organized on the second day of January, 1907, and was the successor of the City National Bank and the Enterprise (savings) Bank that was chartered March, 1869.
The Building and Loan Associations might properly have been called institutions of the city. By means of these associations hun- dreds of homes have been secured in Cairo.
Besides having many sites to visit and excellent transportation facilities by highways Cairo is served by five railroad lines and is also the year round head of navigation on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers It is the terminus for the main barge lines of these rivers.
Cairo is in the same latitude as Tunis in Africa and only about five degrees north of the latitude of Cairo, Egypt.
THE GRAIN BUSINESS OF CAIRO
By CLAUDIA HASLAUER
The raising of grain was probably started centuries ago by the Indians in the planting of corn, which was then called maize. The location of this planting may have been on the Sikeston ridge-south However, the commercial importance of Cairo and grain probably was given the most emphasis when the Illinois Central completed their line from Chicago to Cairo.
This line came through the main grain belt of the state of Illi- nois. In other words, it came through the flat prairie areas that were very rich in top soil and easy to cultivate. Therefore, the event of the railroad coming to Cairo enabled the grain merchant to bring his grain in by rail to Cairo, and have it sacked and loaded on barges or riverboats. This grain was then distributed along the reaches of the lower Mississippi River.
In those days there wasn't any grain that was raised in the south. However, the Illinois Central brought the prime of grain business into Cairo around 1880 and 1890. By the early 1900's there were thirteen elevators that had their facilities in Cairo. There were some oats and grain raised near here; however, the greatest source of oats was many miles north of Cairo. The fact that North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Northern Illinois poured tremendous amounts of grain through the Cairo gateway made the handling of oats at Cairo the chief industry at one time.
These oats were put into what we call a sulfur bin. The raw sul-
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fur was burned and caused the oats that were light brown or even stained by weather to turn to a snowy white color. These sulfur bins and the smoke that went through these oats did not harm the feed value of the oats. That was the first tremendous movement of grain through the Cairo Gateway. Gateway-meaning that the railroads converged at Cairo and went across the Ohio River by the Illinois Cen- tral Bridge.
These oats were distributed throughout the Southeast. Also at Cairo there was a crossing that was done by boat. This was the means of getting trains across the river; and then in turn, these trains dis- tributed the grain that was handled at Cairo to the Southwest. How- ever, with the advent of the building of the Missouri Pacific Bridge at Thebes, Illinois, the ferry was discontinued.
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