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East Cairo

Ghost town · Ballard County, Kentucky

Cairo quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1931, 1:62,500)
Cairo quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1931, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

East Cairo is a ghost town in Ballard County, Kentucky. It is one of 2 former communities in Ballard County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 87th among the 101 Kentucky counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists East Cairo as a historical populated place on the Cairo topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 37.0025° N, 89.1515° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleCairo
Elevation315 ft
Nearest living townCairo, IL
Distance to it1.7 miles
GNIS feature ID2743897
Coordinates37.00252, -89.15152

Open the location on a map

What's there now

East Cairo is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Cairo, IL (population 1,699), about 1.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 315 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is East Cairo?

East Cairo is in Ballard County, Kentucky, at 37.0025, -89.1515.

How many ghost towns are in Ballard County?

Ballard County, Kentucky has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.