Early History:

An abundance of timber, prairies and river bottom land made Carthage and its surrounding area attractive for settlement.  however it was the wealth that lay under the surface -- limestone, zinc, and lead -- that was to produce the industrial boom and capital for the physical and cultural development of jasper County and its towns.

As early as the late 1600s, different bands of the Osage made southwest Missouri their home.  other Native Americans, the Lenape or Delawares, who lived briefly in the James River area to the east in the 1810s - 20s, also visited this region to hunt and fish.  Shawnees, Quapaws, and Cherokees, removed to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) by the U.S. government in the 1830s, often returned to this area to trade, hunt, or settle after intermarriage.

By treaty in 1825, the Osage were removed to Kansas Territory, but in 1837 many returned to Missouri to search for food and game due to poor conditions in Kansas.  Missouri Governor, Lilburn Boggs, called out the state militia to expel the Osage to Kansas.  This event, known as the Osage War, is identified with a marker at the southwest corner of the Jasper County Courthouse Square (#29), Main & 3rd ...

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Welcome to Carthage Missouri
The Maple Leaf City

Located in the southwest corner of the state of Missouri where fertile grassland prairies to the north meet timbered Ozark uplands to the south, Carthage has experienced over 160  years of history.  So, if you like history and want to discover the past, come explore Carthage!