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American Street Guide A Look at the Story of Cairo, Illinois’ Magnolia Manor By Molly Parker | The Southern Illinoisan CAIRO, Ill. (AP) — Charles A. Galigher, and his wife, Adelia Lippit Galigher, moved to Cairo in the 1850s from Zanesville, Ohio, on the prospect of a risky business venture. Together with Mrs. Galigher’s brother, they purchased shares of a bankrupt flour mill. Within a year, they had turned the company profitable; the brother sold his shares and returned to Ohio. Under two labels — Superior White and Premium Eagle — the company sold flour around the world, including in the United Kingdom, to Queen Victoria, and on the homestead, to the U.S. government during the Civil War. By time the war ended, the Galighers were wealthy. With their fortune, they decided to build a mansion in Cairo. In 1869, they laid the foundation for what is known today as Magnolia Manor. Eventually, it would expand to 8,000 square feet, with five flights of stairs leading to a cupola that overlooks the city; at the top, they’d install a window that opens onto a widow’s walk where the Galighers and their company could escape the swampy summer mosquitoes and gaze out across the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. But today, the Cairo Historical Association, which has owned the home since 1952, is running short of cash to continue its operations as a museum. Those dedicated to its upkeep worry what will become of the mansion if they’re forced to shut off the utilities. Charles McGinness, the association’s president, said the problem is pretty simple: “We’re flat broke.” coal-burning fireplaces located throughout; the two in the drawing room are made of Carrara marble. The Galighers also enjoyed a form of air conditioning. Raising the lid of the dome, seen from the second and third floors, in conjunction with the skylight on the roof, would pull hot air out of the house. A further sign of luxury and wealth, they had two bathrooms with running water pumped from an artesian well. The Galighers spent about $40,000 to build the house. It contained roughly 40,000 bricks, purchased for about $1 each, according to a short historical account of the home by the Cairo Historical Association. The bricks were made locally at the Klein brickyard. The home, designed by Galigher and his wife, was modeled after the Italianate form of architecture, known for its wide eaves, ornate brackets, large porches and often, cupolas. The home and all its assets stretched over an entire city block. Also included on the property were gardens, tennis courts, a carriage house, cisterns, wells, a small building used to manufacture carbide gas to light the house, and a miniature steam powered locomotive for the children to ride. The Galighers spent almost as much time and money on the inside of the home as they did on building it. After moving in, they put off decorating it for two years because Adelia Utilities and monthly payments to the home’s caretaker and tour guide, who lives downstairs, far exceed incoming donations and proceeds from tours. The pandemic has been especially bruising to the association’s finances, causing reduced tours and the anticipated cancellation of the annual Holiday House luncheons event, its largest annual fundraiser, McGinness said. Then there are the bigger, more costly repairs that are past due. The home needs a new roof and tuckpointing work. Bricks are falling behind the house onto the porch. There are two leaks, one in the library and one in the roof, which threaten structural damage. “We’re needing some major work done. We’re really just treading water,” McGinness said. “I always tell people, when they say, ‘How’s it going?’ I say, ‘Well, you know that scene of the Titanic at the end where the ship’s standing up at a right angle and they’re holding onto the top? That’s where we are. We’re holding onto the top.’” The mansion consists of four stories and 14 rooms. It has double brick walls with a <strong>10</strong>-inch airspace between them to allow for ventilation. It was heated in the winter by Volume 85 · Number <strong>10</strong> | 67
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