Alternate meaning: Stage name of Farida Mazar Spyropoulos

Table of contents

1 Geography 2 Economically 3 Culturally 4 Why it is named Little Egypt

Geography

Illinois has been partially covered at times by glaciers. However, southern Illinois was covered only partially by the Illinoisan glacier and not at all by the Wisconsian Glacier. Thus, the geography of southern Illinois is considerably more hilly and rocky than central or northern Illinois. Areas of far southern Illinois are much more similar to the Ozarks than to central or northern Illinois.

Additionally, the rich farm land of northern and central Illinois is not found in southern Illinois.

Economically

There are two main centers of commerce for southern Illinois, neither of which is located in Illinois. For the western part of Little Egypt, the economic center is St. Louis, Missouri. For the eastern part, the economic center is Evansville, Indiana.

The main agricultural products of southern Illinois are crops such as corn, soybeans and apples. Southern Illinois also has significant oil and coal deposits. However, there is very limited manufacturing within southern Illinois.

Culturally

Culturally, southern Illinois is tied closely with Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. The immigration route from the east coast westward ran along the Ohio River. Thus, similar settlers who came to southern Illinois also settled in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas.

Even though Illinois was a "free state" prior to the American Civil War, slaves were present in Little Egypt by an act of Congress. It has been suggested that one purpose of troops stationed in Cairo, Illinois was not only to guard the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers during the American Civil War but also to keep the southern portion of the state from seceding.

Why it is named Little Egypt

The exact origin of these nicknames for this region is not entirely clear, but there appear to be a number of factors that have contributed to their development and popularization over time. One reason that the area became popularly known as Egypt centers on Southern Illinois’ role in supplying grain to northern and central Illinois following a harsh winter in 1830-31. Upper Illinois suffered from a long winter and late spring, so crops were not planted until June, and much of that harvest was killed by an early September frost. southern Illinois, however, was milder that year and produced grain, much of which was shipped north. Wagon trains came south and returned home with corn, and many believe the similarities with the Bible story of Jacob’s sons going to Egypt to buy grain and survive a famine may have resulted in the nickname.

One pioneer, Daniel Brush, founder of Carbondale, recalled in his memoirs how grain was shipped from points on the Big Muddy River and Mississippi River to central and northern Illinois that year. He, too, supports the notion that the role southern Illinois played in feeding those areas led to the rise of the “Egypt” moniker.

Another theory is related to a comparison of the land mass surrounded by the great Mississippi and Ohio rivers with that of Egypt’s Nile delta region. According to Hubbs, the nickname may date back to 1818, when a large tract of land was purchased at the confluence of the rivers and its developers named it Cairo. Today, the town of Cairo still lies on a peninsula where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi. Other settlements in that portion of the state have names with Egyptian links: Thebes, Dongola, and Karnak. There is also an Egyptian High School in the extreme southern portion of the state.