Northeast Ward One - Neighborhood History Project - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. Battle of Carthage State Historic Site

The final scrimmage within the Battle of Carthage took place at this location on July 5, 1861. This battle happened days before the Battle of Bull Run occurred. Union commander Colonel Franz Sigel led a small force of 1,100 men against a much larger Confederate force under Major General Sterling Price. The Union defenders attempted to maintain control of Carthage, but they were outnumbered by 6,000 men. Although the Confederates suffered nearly five times as many casualties, forcing the Union troops from the area signified an important Confederate victory at the beginning of the American Civil War when the state was politically divided. Despite the many raids and attacks by Sterling Price and others, the state of Missouri remained mostly neutral in the Civil War, depriving the Confederacy of the material support of a Border State.

2. Cedar Hill Cemetery, 1603 East Chestnut Street

Cedar Hill Cemetery (or East Cemetery as the property was first named), was Carthage's third burial grounds. It was established in 1870 but not platted until 1873. While the cemetery was platted for several hundred burials, many lots have lost their headstones through theft, vandalism or overgrowth. Many veterans are buried in this cemetery. For example, Thomas Gawthrop or Gawthorpe (1791 - 1880), was a veteran of the War of 1812 and Lafayette Bartholomew Ruffin (1833 - 1917) was a Civil War veteran and Elmo Lounis (1919 - 1974) was a World War II veteran. Many Carthage African-American family members are buried in Cedar Hill as well.

3. Carter Park, 602 South River Street

Carter Park is located between a creek and the former Saint Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Railroad tracks and East Chestnut street on the south and South River Street on the west. The initial park property was donated by Dr. J. A. Carter whose home sits atop the bluff that forms the eastern edge of the original property. (This eastern-most portion of the former park property is now developed into the Battle of Carthage State Historic Site, see Clio entry for same on East Chestnut Street.) Originally the property was called Carter's Park in honor of the former property owner and park's donor to the City of Carthage.

4. Lincoln School #2, 609 South River Street (no longer standing)

With heavy enrollment in the old Lincoln School located on Tiger Hill at the north end of Garrison Avenue, the Carthage Board of Education determined a new building was needed for its African-American students. In 1914 voters approved a $10,000 bond issue to finance a new school located at the corner of River and Sixth Streets across the street from the Tourist Park (now part of Carter Park on the east side of River Street, see Clio entry for Carter Park). Constructed of brick and local limestone, the first school term opened in 1915 but two years later, the structure burned. Lincoln students were sent to the old Ward One/Washington School that was vacant with the opening of the new Eugene Field School for white students (See Clio entry for Eugene Field School).

5. Kaut-Reith Shoe Company (former), 200 South River Street (later Steadley Company; now Leggett & Platt)

This factory building was originally built in 1914 for $30,000 for use by the Kaut-Reith Shoe Company based in Saint Louis, Missouri. It was the first of many shoe manufacturers in Carthage, Missouri, during the 1910s and 1920s when the Carthage Chamber of Commerce was encouraging that particular industry. Juvenile Shoe Corporation moved to this building by 1919-20 and operated a few years before adding another plant at 100 South Main. All Juvenile Shoe operations in Carthage ceased around 1926. In Carthage, this factory is more commonly known as the Steadley factory from the building's history as a bed springs manufacturer. This association began shortly after the death of F. W. Steadley when his son Kent reorganized the Carthage Superior Bed Spring Manufacturing plant formerly located on North Main and moved into this River Street facility under the name of the Steadley Company. This company operated for many decades before being acquired by Leggett and Platt, Inc., in 1996.

6. Kellogg Lake Park, Highway MO 96, northeast of Carthage MO

Kellogg Lake and Park (formerly known as Kel-Lake Park) is nestled along the original alignment of U. S. Highway 66 that follows Spring River on the east and the 1950s realignment of U. S. 66 (now Missouri Highway 96) on the west, The park is home to a Carthage history marker placed by the State Historical Society of Missouri and a Blue Star Memorial Highway marker courtesy the Missouri State Highway Department and local garden clubs. Both markers are found off Esterly Drive which is the park's main entrance. NOTE: Text on historical society marker is no longer current on some lcoations. For example Ancient Carthage artifacts are no longer displayed at the Carthage Library (see Clio entry for same) but at City Hall on the eastside of the Carthage Courthouse Square. Also, some text is incorrect. Anna "Annie" White Baxter was not first the female elected to public office but the first female County Clerk elected to that position. Also Our Lady of the Ozarks is no longer in operation at 1900 South Grand (see Clio entry for that address for current occupant and more history of that site).

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Northeast Ward One - Neighborhood History Project

Created by Powers Museum on July 29th 2019, 12:45:37 pm.

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Description

This tour features selected addresses in the northeastern part of Carthage, comprising mostly of Ward 1 sites (with the exception of Kellogg Lake Park from Ward 2). 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 a physical location 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 may be added to this tour in the future by volunteers. Contact the Powers Museum for further information. www.powersmuseum.org

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