Cairo

Prior to passing through Cairo, Illinois, I had heard that it was one of the most depressing cities in the United States.

Cairo, pronounced CARE-OH,  is situated at the southernmost point in Illinois, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Cairo has experienced prosperity, sometimes-violent racial conflict, and eventual economic decline.

We passed through Cairo on our way up the Great River. We found a city much like many others on our journey. We found a city decades into an economic decline fueled by changes in manufacturing and transportation -- changes that started well over a century ago.