Institution

A rare cast iron headstone for T. Crawford, who died in 1880, is stored at the Powers Museum and was featured as "Artifact of the Month" in June during the 175th Anniversary of Carthage 2017 Exhibit. It was found leaning against the east fence and brought to the museum for safe keeping. Its manufacture has been attributed to the Carthage Foundry which was located at Oak Street and Garrison Avenue (south west corner).

Headstone for Ben F. Thomas, World War I veteran.

General view of Cedar Hill Cemetery, 2017.

Digitization on CLIO is part of Powers Museum's "Digital Carthage" project in honor of Carthage's 175th Anniversary Celebration (March 28, 2017 through March 27, 2018). 

Funding for the Walking in the Wards tour was made possible by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Spring 2017. 

Find-a-grave link for Cedar Hill Cemetery

More Info

Marker for T. Crawford pictured on Find-a-grave.

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.

Cedar Hill Cemetery, 1603 East Chestnut Street 

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

Northeast Ward One - Neighborhood History Project

Prior to the battle, the men held a conference to settle the conflicts within the state. The conference abruptly ended, which did not sit very well with Price. He ordered that the railways were burned after crossing them. He continued his advance, building up his battalions: by July 3, he had collected 6,000 men from the south. Sigel made it to Carthage the next day. After hearing that Sigel was located at Carthage, the Governor planned an attack on the Union army. The battle covered over ten miles at Carthage, but was pushed farther as Sigel tried to close off the attacks. The battle lasted all day and there was not any progress. The forces met in the town square of Carthage and had many skirmishes. Sigel soon found out about a large body of men moving back into the woods and he grew worried. The men were the unarmed guardsmen, but he believed he knew their tactics. Sigel retreated from the battle while having protective lines at the rear to protect the army from attacks while retreating. The army was able to retreat with little casualties. Sigel along with his troops went back almost 18 miles to Sarcoxie Michigan. The Battle of Carthage was a win for the confederates, and was the determining factor of what Missouri's place in the war would be. Slavery in Missouri was abolished about 4 years later on January 11, 1865. The battlefield is now protected and preserved with 180 acres of land.

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.

Battle of Carthage State Historic Site

The northern entrance off River street was created when the stone entrance gate to Cassil Place on West Central Avenue was moved to this location (see Clio entry for Cassil Place on West Central Avenue). For many years the corner at Chestnut and River Streets also had Carthage limestone pillars that formed an arched gateway and second entrance into the park but in 2016, those were moved further east on Chestnut to keep them from being repeatedly damaged by truck traffic. Next to these pillars at the River and Chestnut location was a marker with the text "July 5, 1861" to denote the Battle of Carthage action by both sides in this vicinity. That marker still stands on its original site. The park was home to leisure activities and sports events in the late 19th century through the first decade of the 20th century at which point it was developed into Carthage's Tourist Park for auto travelers using the early named highways such as the Ozark Trails and the Jefferson Highway. Facilities were added for tent and car camping and some of the rock shelters from this period still exist although the rock cabins do not. The Tourist Park was noted in AP news wire stories in the 1930s as one of best tourist parks along U. S. Highway 66. (U.S. 66 originally came into Carthage from the east via River Street and turned west at Central Avenue, so the park was only a couple blocks away.) In the 1930s the park also was used for New Deal recreational programs and would also become home to Boy Scout and Girl Scout activities in later decades.Today the park is still used for picnicking and sports events. Late 2018 Update: Southern portion of the rock entrance gates seen in the Google image have been damaged.

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.



Carter Park, 602 South River Street

The second structure on this property opened in 1919 and was used until the 1954-55 term ended when integration of all students was accomplished in the local school system (a process that actually began during the 1953-54 term). Lincoln’s last principal was Mrs. Kathryn Redmond assisted by teacher Miss Eula Scott. The original school structure was torn down in 1965 and replaced with Carthage's Vocational and Technical School. Among the many graduates of Lincoln School was Kenneth O. Wofford (LHS Class of 1941, along with his future wife Willeta Brinker). Wofford served as a Tuskegee Airman with the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and then went on to become a colonel in the United States Air Force, also serving during the Korean and Vietnam wars. On his Library of Congress veterans oral history completed in 2006, Wofford gave his ethnicity as "60% Cherokee and Creek, 25% English and Irish, and 15% African (1)."

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). 

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

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.




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

After World War II, the Carthage Sportsmen’s Protective League (CSPL), a local wildlife and conservation organization organized in 1918, had been seeking a suitable site upon which to construct a lake for fishing and other recreational purposes. It was during the construction of a new, straighter roadway for U. S. Highway 66 (also known as Route 66) in 1953, that 28 acres formerly part of the Kellogg Farm were excavated for fill to elevate the new road. After negotiations with E. L. “Uke” Haughawout, Mary Kellogg and brother Charles Kellogg deeded the land to the League. A finance committee was formed and raised $7,000.00 for the construction of the dam, dikes and holding areas. It was hoped that the lake would fill from natural sources, but a severe drought in 1953-1954 caused the League to purchase and install a pump to fill he lake from nearby Spring River. After stocking it with fish, the lake was opened to the public in 1954. The Sportsmen’s League, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Highway Department, local garden clubs and other volunteers continued to make improvements to the area. A roadside park and history markers were dedicated in 1956 and in 1963 the lake and additional acreage were added to the City of Carthage park system. A fountain in the lake was added in 1969, donated by Dr. Emil Oexman. A larger replacement fountain was donated in 1986 by Robert Esterly and dedicated to Haughawout and the Kelloggs. In 2002, a lake-side pavilion was added and funded by the Helen Boylan Foundation, the Kent and Mary Steadley Trust, and Infinity Lighting.  Kellogg Lake Park continues to be a draw for local families and travelers to relax and enjoy the facilities of the park including its annual June event, Kids Free Fishing Day, which draws hundreds of children. In addition, a disc golf course has been added in recent years.  The original route of U.S. Highway 66 into Carthage runs along Spring River within the park. A bridge has been removed that permitted travelers to continue down River Street to Central Avenue where U. S. 66 turned west on to Central Avenue. Traveling south on River would lead to the Carthage Tourist Park (see Clio entry for Carter Park). The intersection of River and Central was bypassed in the 1930s with a new Carthage limestone and concrete bridge which has recently been replaced with a new all-concrete bridge used today as MO 96 enters the city limits. just beyond Kellogg Lake Park. Entry created in honor of Carthage's 175th Anniversary Celebration exhibit featuring selected artifacts and archival pieces on display at the Powers Museum during 2017. Funding for Neighborhood History project was made possible by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Spring 2017.

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).

Northeast Ward One - Neighborhood History Project

Cedar Hill Cemetery, 1603 East Chestnut Street

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information