CAIRO, Is.,Alexander co. Situated at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers... From a survey of the great physical features of the western country, in connection with a prospective estimate of the immense resources of wealth which are to be rapidly developed there, the locality of this place appears to possess the most remarkable advantages for becoming, at some future period, the seat of one of the largest and most important cities in North America. (Gazetteer of the United States of America, 1854)
CAIRO, An enterprising town of Alexander county, is situated at the southern extremity of the state, on a point of land formed by the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, one hundred and seventy-five miles below St. Louis. The situation is low and subject to frequent inundations, which have retarded somewhat its growth. A levee is built along the river, which is said to have cost nearly one million dollars. It is the southern terminus of the Illinois Central railroad. Samuel S. Brooks, Postmaster. (Hawes' Illinois State Gazetteer...,1859)