Town Square

Town Square. Cairo, West Virginia. , Cairo Town Square is built on the original site of the Baltimore and Ohio/CSX Railroad Depot. Cairo was a multi-railroad and oil boom town in the mid-1800's and early 1900's. In the 1970's, the CSX Company replaced the original tracks with "Ribbon Rails". Later, this proved to be disastrous to the town as numerous train derailments occurred, destroying property. Scars can still be seen on the "Old Bank" building and around town. The depot was destroyed in 1970 when a rail car slid on its side through the building., After the tracks were removed in 1988, the Town of Cairo, along with the Cairo Community Development Association and with the help of local and state grants, designed and created Town Square. Town Square was completed in 2003 when the one-of-a-kind copper-topped gazebo was put in place. All iron work was designed and crafted specifically for Cairo., With the creation of the North Bend Rail Trail on the abandoned rail bed, the gazebo became a favorite resting spot for bikers, hikers, tourists and town residents., The Cairo Community Development Association, a group of volunteer residents, works tirelessly to create and maintain improvement projects. We have created a series of Points of Interest plaques around town to tell some of our history., (Captions):, July 4, 1913 , Main Street, looking North from railroad crossing., Looking East from the Bank of Cairo. Passengers await the next train at the old B and O Depot. The gazebo is now where the Depot once stood.