Town of Cairo

Town of Cairo is a Tennessee historical marker in Sumner County.

2400 Cairo Road

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

In 1799 James Winchester and William Cage, Jr. purchased 150 acres on the banks of the Cumberland River and here founded the town of Cairo. Four principal streets were laid out. Lots were sold between 1800 and 1820. The County Court met at Cairo from 1800 to 1803. The census of 1830 showed 30 families living in the town, incorporated in 1815. Between 1804 and 1830 there were 4 doctors, 2 schools. 13 stores, a cotton mil1, woolen mill, grist mill, sawmill, still house, carpenter, cooper, blacksmith, silversmith, a boatyard, shoemaker. a tanyard, cotton spinning factory, a church, the Bell Tavern, Cairo Race Track, and two large warehouses on the banks of the river. Barges, keelboats, and steamboats came to the Cairo landing. Cairo was on its way to rivaling Nashville as a river port. Due to the selection of Gallatin as the county seat, an economic recession, a decline in river traffic, and the advent of new roads, Cairo was virtually a ghost town by 1855.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1794 · Map of the Tennessee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Kentuckey. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

More markers nearby

Cairo Rosenwald School 1923-1959under 1 mi
Ziegler’s Station2 mi
Cragfont3 mi
Bledsoe's Fort and Monument3 mi