Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District, Missouri

What it is

The square is lined with commercial blocks from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Look for the Farmers and Drovers Bank, later the Miller Clothing Company, from 1875 and 1908; the Belk-Simpson Building and the Carthage Water & Electric Co. building, both older than 1884; the 1883 fire department; the Snyder Building of 1901; and the McNerney Block of 1905.

Later additions include the Drake Hotel and the Leggett and Platt building, both from 1920, and a Ben Franklin store from the 1920s. The Bank of Carthage and Carthage National Bank round out the list.

Visiting tips

Park once and walk the square; allow 30 minutes to an hour. Food, fuel, an EV charger and a motel are all within a couple of blocks. The Boots Motel is just 0.2 mile away, the Carthage South Historic District about half a mile, and the Cassill Place Historic District about 0.6 mile, so the whole town is easy to see on foot or with short hops.