Carthage Courthouse Square Tour (Wards 1 & 2) - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. Jasper County Courthouse, East Third and South Main Street

Constructed in 1894-95, the Jasper County Courthouse is located in Carthage, Missouri in the town's center square. It was designed by M.A. Orlopp in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It is the third courthouse of the county. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Its first floor lobby area houses historical displays, murals painted by local artists, and a Route 66 exhibit modeled after Boots Drive-In (see Clio entry for same on South Garrison Avenue).

2. Miller Building, 110 East Fourth Street

"Built in 1887 by W. P. Miller, this building held the Miller Grocery on the street-level storefront and the Ideal Restaurant in its basement when it opened. The original cornice work is beautifully intact as are the iron pillars" on the building's first floor. (1) Ideal was replaced by an apple packing company and the Miller Grocery gave way to I. F. Garner's harness and saddle shop then S.W. Knepper's Music shop in 1895. Eventually the storefront was returned to the grocery business for most of the first half of the 20th century including Osborne-Fox Grocery, McCormick Grocery, Atlantic and Pacific (A&P), Economy Food Market and others grocery owners. By the 1940s Firestone Store had opened in this space for a many years. Page Wagner moved his family's jewelry business (established in 1924) to this address in 1973 and operated until 1999. Today most of the building is a private residence. This property is within the National Register of Historic Places Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District (see link below).

3. Cassaday Block (no longer standing), 120 East Fourth Street

Once a three-story brick and decorated press metal front building, the Cassaday structure served the community in many ways. The first floor storefronts during the 1880s to the early decade of the 20th century housed various stores such as Kurtzeborn and Marker, Palace Dry Goods and the Campbell-Wright Mercantile Company. The second and third floors housed several business schools including the Carthage Business College, professional offices and medical institutions such as the Mattenlee Sanitarium.

4. Griswold Grocery Building (no longer standing), 130 East Fourth Street

Selden B. Griswold operated a long-time grocery business at this location in a brick building that was destroyed by fire in 1972, along with three other structures to the west on the south side of the square. Griswold, a Civil War veteran of the 53rd Illinois Infantry, was one of Carthage earliest merchants as the town rebuilt from its Civil War destruction. He hauled his first store goods himself by wagon from Sedalia, Missouri, the nearest railroad point (1). In 1882 his company focused entirely on the wholesale grocery trade in the region and continued that practice until the late 1920s. (Griswold died in 1918.)

5. Burlingame and Chaffee Opera House (former),136 East Fourth Street

This structure was constructed in 1877 with two storefronts on the first floor and an opera house on the second story (entered from a stairway on the right side of the building, see wooden door). W. L. Burlingame and Dr. J. B Chaffee were the original owners. The opera house opened in February 1878. In 1893 after another opera house opened two blocks to the east, the opera house closed and the second floor was used by Jasper County officials prior to the Jasper County Courthouse being built in 1894-95. This structure is within the National Register of Historic Places Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District (see link below).

6. McCrillis Brothers Building (no longer standing), 146 East Fourth Street

Destroyed by fire in 2013, the former building on this site was built as a hardware store in 1885 although early prints of the building show 1883 on cornice (1). Built by brothers John D. and Frank McCrillis, they had conducted their hardware business on this same corner as early as the 1878 in a two-story frame building. Many other occupants have served this community from this structure including Payne Brothers People's Store, Kearney-Damon Dry Goods, McMurtry's Department Store and others in the first half of the 20th century.

7. McDaniel Building, 346 South Grant Street

Many grocery stores have operated from this location since its first occupant, McDaniel and Ruffin, opened a mercantile here after the Civil War. Economy Clothing Company and other dry goods businesses were located here in the 1890-1910 period. In 1915, Union Trust Company, organized in 1913 by J. H. Staley, manager of the McDaniel Milling Company, opened at this address catering to farmers, agricultural interests and other small businesses. Late in 1931 the Bank of Carthage took over Union Trust assets. In subsequent years, various stores have occupied the first floor, while offices have occupied the second floor. Recently, the second floor was converted to apartment use.

8. Steadley Building, 336 - 342 Grant Street

This building began as several wooden commerical structures constructed in the 1870s and early 1880s. These were destroyed by fire in 1892 and Walter Smith announced construction of two adjacent brick buildings on the site. Early occupants were The When Shoe Store and Smith's own drug store. An additional building was built next to Smith's structures by Alonzo Parkell for his tailoring company. Multiple stores came and went through the three storefronts and second story offices until Frederick W. Steadley bought all these properties by 1927. A year after his death in 1928, the three buildings were refaced in buff brick for a unified facade and the structure was renamed the Steadley building in honor of the one-time Carthage jeweler, limestone quarry owner, spring bed manufacturer (under name of Carthage Bed Spring Company, later Steadley Manufacturing) and one of the town's largest real estate investors. This building in within the Carthage Courthouse Square District of the National Register of Historic Places.

9. Carthage City Hall, 326 Grant Street (former site of Myers-Garland Building, no longer standing)

After being located within the Jasper County Courthouse since 1895, the current Carthage City Hall was built after the former Myers and Garland building (built in 1892) and two other adjacent smaller historic buildings were destroyed by fire May 29, 1988. (Note: Myers and Garland names were used interchangeably throughout this structure's history.) Today's City Hall lobby contains a unique display of ancient Carthage, Tunisia, artifacts from a former sister city relationship in the 1960s. Also on display is a series of works by Carthage artist Andy Thomas comparing ancient Carthage to Carthage, Missouri, during different periods of time.

10. Central National Bank Building (former), now United Missouri Bank, 300 South Grant Street

This corner has been been home to a succession of banks including the current United Missouri Bank (UMB), Central National Bank (CNB), and First National Bank (latter established at this site in 1872). First National's 1891 building was torn down in 1963, along with other historic commercial buildings to the south, to make way for a new facility for CNB that had bought out 1st National Bank operations in 1931 (CNB formerly located at 149 East Third Street - see Clio entry for that address). This structure is within the Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Although this Mid-century Modern building was a non-conforming structure when the district was first added to the National Register, it now is well over fifty years old itself.

11. Central National Bank (former), 149 East Third Street

Central National Bank received its charter July 1, 1890, and opened for business on October 14. Founders were Dr. Amos H. Caffee [druggist], President; J. P. Newell, Sr., Vice-President; J. E. Lang, cashier. In 1906, the bank put a local limestone stone front on its 1880s brick building and extended the stone around the Grant Street side of the building as it appears today. The interior was remodeled at this time, too. On December 11, 1933, the Carthage Evening Press reported that a CWS (Civil Works Service) project would employ 52 women "on the Carthage relief roles (1)." The women were to make "comforts [bedding] (2)." The factory was located in the Central Bank building at the northeast corner of the square. The paper refers to the building as the "former" bank building and reported that it had been housing Red Cross supplies. This building is within the National Register of Historic Places Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District (see link below). Introduction text written by Dr. Megan Bever, Powers Museum Board Member and Missouri Southern State University Professor, summer 2017. .

12. Deutsch Clothing Co. and Whitsett Clothing Co. (former), 141 East Third Street

Another example of older commercial buildings built in the 19th century being updated in the 20th century with a new "modern" facade treatment. Two 1880s commercial storefronts were united with a new brick facade after a fire in late 1917. The left store was the long-time home to A. B. Deutsch's Clothing Company and the right store was an even older establishment belonging to J. M. Whitsett's Dry Goods Company. Both Deutsch and Whitsett served the public into the 1920s. In 1922 Whitsett claimed to have "shipped the first car load of merchandise ever sent west of Springfield on the new [rail]road." (1) The goods were "bought from Samuel C. Davis, the oldest wholesale dry goods merchant in St. Louis. Carthage was a small town then, but a prosperous and growing one." (2) This was in 1870. His store at the time was at this location but in a frame building. This structure is within the National Register of Historic Places Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District (see link below).

13. Damon Building (former R.H. Rose Mercantile), 101 East Third Street

This property's early owner, Robert McFarland, sold this parcel in 1851 to John Shirley who eventually owned most of the property that comprised the north side of the square. He operated a hotel and livery stable until he and his family, including daughter Myra Belle Shirley (later known as Belle Starr), left town for Texas during the Civil War. (A marker in the sidewalk further down the block at 119 East 3rd, notes Shirley's ownership of the square's north side.) R. H. Rose was one of the Carthage's early settlers after the Civil War and opened a dry goods store. His first location was one of the storefronts below the Burlingame & Chaffee Opera House (136 East 4th Street, see Clio entry for address). A few years later, H. G. Damon began construction of a new commercial building across the Carthage square at Third and Main Street and R. H. Rose moved to that location. His store was a large establishment and had over thirty employees.Through good marketing and managing, Rose and son G. A. Rose after him, managed to survive the fierce competition of Carthage dry goods stores (at any one time numbering at least a half a dozen similar stores) and continued operations until the early years of the Depression. The building is in the Carthage Courthouse Square National Register Historic District.

14. Bank of Carthage Building #2 (former), now Jasper County Sheriff Office, 231 South Main Street,

Looking to expand its banking facility in 1959, the Board of the Bank of Carthage (301 South Main Street) swapped properties with the heirs and owners of the Caffee Building located across the street to the north. The new Bank of Carthage facility was built in 1960 and featured limestone from Carthage Marble Corporation on its exterior facade and various foreign marbles on the interior that were supplied by Locarni Marble Company. Most notable on the building's southern facade along West Third Street are the round sculptures featuring coins from Carthage, Tunisia. This address is within the Carthage Courthouse Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

15. Bank of Carthage Building (former), 301 South Main Street

The Bank of Carthage was established by G. A. Cassil and began in a modest frame building on this site in 1868. The building that stands today was expanded in 1890 from a two story 1884 brick structure into a three story building and much of the facade was refaced at this time, too, especially the main entrance on the corner of the building. Additional exterior and interior alterations happened throughout the 20th century including removing the third floor lodge hall by mid-century. The bank's of founder was G. A. Cassil but other partners when the bank was started were R. W. Hall, E. W. Harper, M. G. McGregor, D. S. Thomas and John Ruffin. Cassil had arrived in Carthage in 1867 and according to one bank history, before establishing the bank and acquiring a safe, he conducted financial business informally and hid his business resources on the person of his wife and wives of other friends (1). Bank of Carthage operations originally opened on the east side of the square in the "Variety Store" but soon a lot was purchased on the north west corner of the square and the bank moved there and stayed at 301 South Main Street until 1960. This structure is included in the Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District of the National Register of Historic Places.

16. Pollard Building #2 (Ramsay Brothers Dry Goods Store, later Ramsay's Department Store), 307 - 315 South Main Street

Ramsay Brothers Dry Goods Store opened its first location in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1890. The Carthage, Missouri, store opened on February 23, 1895 as one of two stores occupying the second downtown commercial building built by W J Pollard. Ultimately, the Ramsay retail company would take over this entire building as well as grow to seven branch stores in the tri-state region of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Early in its history, the company maintained its own office in New York City (1). The structure is in the Carthage Courthouse Square National Register District.

17. Center Building (former Regan Building), 319 - 321 - 325 South Main

Originally built as a three story building in 1868-69 by Timothy Regan, this structure was remodeled (including removal of its third floor) in the second decade of the 20th century and renamed the Center Building because it sat in the middle of the block. This property has always been a mixed use building with storefronts on the first floor, offices and rooms on the second floor, and a large public meeting hall on the third floor (removed in 20th century). This location is within the National Register of Historic Places Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District (see link below).

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Carthage Courthouse Square Tour (Wards 1 & 2)

Created by Michele Hansford on July 29th 2019, 11:34:53 am.

Loading...

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

This "Neighborhood of History" tour features selected addresses on East 4th, Grant, East 3rd and South Main Streets that face the 1894-95 Jasper County Courthouse, the tour's starting point. The addresses featured here (along with the remaining buildings surrounding the courthouse and extending for a couple blocks) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and citations to those nominations are cited as links in the Clio listings. Most of the buildings or sites featured in this tour were selected because they were locations of objects displayed (whether manufactured, sold and/or used at a particular location) in the Powers Museum's 2017 exhibit focusing on businesses and industries of Carthage. It was the intent of the original project to create a vehicle that could show those objects as they related to physical locations that current residents and tourists can view by walking or driving by today. The digital sites on this Clio app were originally created by a special grant project funded by the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2017-18 as part of the Powers Museum's observation of Carthage's 175th anniversary. Other addresses around the courthouse square may be added in the future by volunteers. Contact the Powers Museum for further information. www.powersmuseum.org

Share