Carthage (Missouri)

Carthage is a city of about 15,500 (2020) in Southwest Missouri, It is known as "America's Maple Leaf City".

Understand

Carthage was established in 1842 to serve as the county seat of Jasper County. As Missouri was sandwiched between the secessionist southern states and the abolitionist north, Carthage became a Civil War battlefield on July 5, 1861 and again in October 1863; pro-Confederate guerrillas burned much of the city in September 1864.

The current Jasper County Courthouse, built of Carthage stone in 1894, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The history of the Civil War sites in the Missouri-Kansas border region fills a book, "The Big Divide" ISBN 978-0976443414, published in 2013.

After the civil war, Carthage thrived as a rail town, a source for "Carthage marble" (a hard, polished limestone) and a highway crossroads when U.S. Highways 66 and 71 came to town in 1926.

Get in

Joplin Regional Airport (10 miles from Carthage) offers multiple round-trip flights daily to Kansas City (150 miles); transport is also available to Tulsa (110 miles).

By highway, Carthage is served by Interstate 44 (which bypasses Route 66 in the region) and by US Highway 71.

Get around

No public mass transit exists in Carthage, although the municipality operates City Taxi (8AM-6PM weekdays only, +1 417-623-5577). Conventional taxi service is provided by Martins Taxi (+1 417-726-2010).

See
  • Battle of Carthage Civil War Museum, 205 Grant St., ☏ +1 417-237-7060, . Tu-Sa 8:30AM-5PM, Su 1-5PM Sun, year-round. Information and artifacts from the Civil War Battle of Carthage and the Civil War in southwest Missouri, including a wall-sized mural of the Battle of Carthage. By donation. (updated Dec 2017)
  • 🌍 Battle of Carthage State Historic Site, East Chestnut Road, ☏ +1 417-682-2279. Daily 8AM-6PM. The Battle of Carthage was one of the preliminary battles leading up to the much larger one at Wilson's Creek. Southern Missouri was fought over fiercely because of its rich lead and zinc deposits. Free. 
  • 🌍 Jasper County Courthouse, Courthouse Square, 302 South Main Street, ☏ +1 417-625-4350. Constructed with local Carthage marble in 1894, the building's grandiose architecture includes turrets, towers, and arches. The building remains the county seat today; museum and guided tours are open to the public. 
  • Kendrick House, 131 E Northwoods St, ☏ +1 417-358-0636. Oldest surviving house in Jasper County (built 1849), believed to have served as a Civil War field hospital complete with slave quarters. Various events, ghost tours. 
  • Precious Moments Chapel and Gift Shop, 4105 South Chapel Rd., ☏ +1 417-358-7599. 

Do
  • 66 Drive-in Theatre, 17231 Old 66 Blvd., ☏ +1 417-359-5959, . One of the few remaining drive-in cinemas on Route 66, with neon signage of the era. Listed on the US National Register of Historic Places, its original 1949 design closely matches the "Radiator Springs Drive-In" in 2006 film Cars. $6 adults, $3 children 5-12, free for children under 5. 

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Hotels

Motels
  • 🌍 Boots Court, 107 S. Garrison Avenue (downtown, at former US66 / US71 crossroads), ☏ +1 417 310-2989, . Route 66 historic motel from 1939 streamline moderne era, hosted Clark Gable and other notables in its "radio in every room" heyday. Fully restored to the 1949 era (before TV came to Carthage). The first rooms reopened in 2012 (initially at $66 and $71 a night); the last of the thirteen rooms returned to service in 2023. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this property has many 1940s quirks like individual carports for some rooms in the original building. The rooms and showers are small by modern standards, the televisions have been removed, the original roof and architectural neon lighting were restored. A throwback to another era. 
  • Guest House Motel, 417 E. Central, ☏ +1 417-358-4077. 
  • Super 8 Motel, 416 W. Fir Road, ☏ +1 417-359-9000. Internet, continental breakfast, hot tub. Additional charge for pets. $63 double. 

Camping

Go next
Routes through Carthage
Kansas City ← Lamar ←  N  S  → Joplin → Fayetteville
Tulsa ← Joplin ←  W  E  → Halltown → Springfield
Ends at ← Jct ←  W  E  → Halltown → Ends at
Ends at ← Webb City ←  W  E  → END


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