{"id":1162,"slug":"site-of-the-illinois-central-railroad-passenger-depot-in-cairo-illinois-illinois","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Cairo Depot is the terminus — the '1856' that's the southernmost IC, the 'longest railroad' that's the world then. The 'denied' is the cover — the 'City Times '55' that's the no underground here, the 'without foundation' that's the lie told. The 'porters' is the worked — the 'Burroughs' that's the '57 confirmed, the 'sympathetic conductors' that's the let them ride.","The 'Halliday' is the neighbor — the 'famous hotel' that's the across the street, the 'burned '40s' that's the dignitaries' gone. The 'razed' is the gone — the '1936 replaced' that's the North Cairo moved, the '2024 listed' that's the site marked. Cairo is the funnel — the 'Mississippi arriving' that's the river transferred, the 'Chicago ships' that's the Canada bound.","The file keeps the depot: the denied railroad, the porters' aid, the Halliday's shadow, and the razed site marked.","Cairo's IC Depot is the archive's Illinois file — the railroad that wasn't there."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["The Illinois Central Depot site is the archive's Illinois file — the terminus the paper denied.","A site keeps its denial — the file's suggestion being that Cairo's hold is the contradicted: the 'without foundation' that's the printed lie, the 'porters helped' that's the truth hidden, and the 'razed but listed' that's the site remembered."]}],"name":"Site of the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot in Cairo, Illinois","aliases":[],"type":"HISTORIC_SITE","type_label":"Historic Site","cats":["DARK_HISTORY","UNDERGROUND_RAILROAD_HISTORY","AFRICAN_AMERICAN_HISTORY","HISTORIC_SITE","RAILROAD","UNDERGROUND_RAILROAD"],"groups":["dark-history","historic-sites"],"desc":"NPS-listed historic site associated with the Underground Railroad.","full_desc":"Site of the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot in Cairo, Illinois is a historic site in Cairo, Illinois, a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing. NPS-listed historic site associated with the Underground Railroad. It sits in the archive under dark history, Underground Railroad history and the Underground Railroad. The dossier holds 3 documented facts — the record is history-forward, no paranormal claims on file. The site is open to visitors.","address":"Lot at western corner of Ohio Street and Second Street","city":"Cairo","county":null,"state":"Illinois","postal":null,"region":"Midwest","lat":37.006288,"lon":-89.18288,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":"NPS public listing access field: Yes. This is a listing snapshot; current arrangements still require confirmation.","ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":"National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing","current_use":"Historic site","research_notes":"Government-registry discovery record, unique ID 48IL01, source row 753. Inclusion concerns slavery, freedom-seeking and resistance history; no haunting is inferred. City, coordinates and detailed history are not inferred from the name. The source Year Established field is not treated as year built/opened. ","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":62.1,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.35,"identity_confidence":0.85,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":1,"paranormal_claim_provenance":null,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[],"history":[{"description":"NPS includes this site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Site of the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot in Cairo, Illinois' past is on record — the entry belongs to the verified layer the museum itself interprets. The fact is historically verified — the part of the file that doesn't need hedging. The record appears in 'Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01'. The entry's timeline holds it; the lore holds the rest.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01","url":"https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/sortable_dataset/undergroundrailroad/F0E29766-00A1-12E5-C3D062151C3F7E26/nri-NTFListings6426NOPIItable.csv?t=1784017173223","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}},{"description":"Site of the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot in Cairo, Illinois is documented on the National Park Service Network to Freedom for its role in the Underground Railroad. Site of the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot in Cairo, Illinois' past is on record — the entry belongs to the verified layer the museum itself interprets. The fact is historically verified — the part of the file that doesn't need hedging. Sources including 'NPS Network to Freedom listing' carry the record. The detail belongs to the verified spine of the entry.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"NPS Network to Freedom listing","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}},{"description":"The depot’s UGRR role is documented. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. It's verified history: the dossier's load-bearing detail. Sources including 'NPS Network to Freedom listing' carry the record. The record keeps it — history, not lore. It remains the site's standing claim.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"NPS Network to Freedom listing","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}}],"legends":[],"entities":[],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Historic site; verify hours and access with the managing agency before visiting; check nps.gov for current hours and alerts.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01","url":"https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/sortable_dataset/undergroundrailroad/F0E29766-00A1-12E5-C3D062151C3F7E26/nri-NTFListings6426NOPIItable.csv?t=1784017173223","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1},{"name":"NPS Network to Freedom listing","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1},{"name":"Underground Railroad","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[{"field_name":"short_description","existing_value":"NPS-listed historic site associated with the Underground Railroad.","incoming_value":"The Cairo depot—where the fugitives boarded north.","notes":"Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite."},{"field_name":"historic_designation","existing_value":"National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing","incoming_value":"NPS Network to Freedom","notes":"Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite."},{"field_name":"research_notes","existing_value":"Government-registry discovery record, unique ID 48IL01, source row 753. Inclusion concerns slavery, freedom-seeking and resistance history; no haunting is inferred. City, coordinates and detailed history are not inferred from the name. The source Year Established field is not treated as year built/opened. ","incoming_value":"UGRR enrichment wave 3; VERIFY task auto-queued.","notes":"Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite."}],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":0,"history":3,"legends":0,"entities":0,"sources":3}}