Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county chair of Jasper County and is nicknamed “America’s Maple Leaf City.”

Jasper County was formed in 1841. Carthage was agreed as the county seat, the Place cleared and the town platted in 1842. The city was named after ancient Carthage. By the time of the American Civil War, there were more than 500 residents, a brick and rock courthouse, and several businesses.

The area was divided higher than slavery, and almost anything of the African-Americans in the county at the times were slaves. The Battle of Carthage, fought upon July 5, 1861, was a fighting between Union troops from St. Louis and Confederate troops led by the pro-Southern Missouri Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson. The “Second Battle of Carthage” occurred in October 1863 similar to Union troops confronted Confederate troops north of town and provoked them to compensation to Arkansas. The town experienced juvenile skirmishes and attacks throughout the war; pro-Confederate guerrillas burned most of the city (including the courthouse) in September 1864. Historical accounts, such as Jasper County, Missouri in the Civil War (1923) by Col. Ward L. Schrantz, document the regional warfare.

The Place grew hastily following the Civil War. The Missouri Western Railroad arrived in 1872. Town residents started a foundry, furniture factory, woolen and grain mills, a plow works and numerous liveries and extra businesses. Leggett & Platt, now a Fortune 500 company yet based in Carthage, was founded in 1883. Nearby lead mines and limestone quarries in addition to contributed significant profusion and Carthage became one of the most prosperous towns in the area. Residents poured their maintenance into ornate Victorian-style homes, many of which are now allocation of the Carthage South District, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The Jasper County Courthouse, also on the National Register of Historic Places, was built of Carthage stone in 1894–95. There is a mural inside the courthouse depicting the history of Jasper County. Growth in Carthage can be documented through Sanborn maps, many of which are available online.