2700 Washington Avenue
Cairo, Illinois
618-734-0201
Magnolia Manor is a postbellum manor located in the historic district of Cairo. Charles A. Galigher was a prominent citizen of Cairo and a milling merchant, who accumulated a fortune by selling flour to the government during the Civil War. Through business transactions, he became a friend of General Ulysses S. Grant, who made his headquarters in Cairo during his campaign in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. 1869, after the war, Galigher began construction of a four-storied red brick Victorian mansion on a two acre site on Washington Avenue. In 1872, it was completed and the fourteen rooms became home to Charles Galigher, his wife Adelia Lippit Galigher, and their three sons, Frank, Albert, and Charles Frederick. The mansion is a 14-room red brick structure which features double walls intended to keep out the city's famous dampness with their ten inch airspaces. Inside the home are many original, 19th century furnishings. Because of Galigher’s friendship with Grant the mansion was the site of a lavish celebration when Grant retired after two terms as U.S. President.
From 1872 until 1952, the mansion had only four private owners: Galigher, H.H. Candee, P.T. Langan, and Fain W. King. In 1952, the Cairo Historical Association was formed and decided to undertake the preservation of the home as its initial project. The Galigher home became Magnolia Manor, a Victorian museum, where today visitors admire the high-ceilinged, spacious, and splendidly appointed rooms. Because the Galigher house was the scene of the Grant visit and reception and because it is an outstanding example of Italianate architecture and typifies a fine Southern Illinois home of the period, it was included in the Illinois Section of the Historic American Building Survey. In 1969, it was entered on the National Register of Historic Places.
Visiting Magnolia Manor
Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 9 am - 4:30 pm
Sunday: 1 pm - 4:30 pm
Closed Christmas through New Years Day, Easter, and July 4
There is no charge to visit Magnolia Manor
Learn more about the community of Cairo