Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the Henley, Henry, Public Library. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1870.
Carthage dates its founding to 1834 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1870.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Carthage’s history is told.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1892Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Carthage.
Carthage was platted in 1834. The town was named after Carthage, North Carolina. A post office has been in operation at Carthage since 1835.
The Henry Henley Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Carthage, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The same year John Clark donated to Carthage Friends the meeting house, grounds and graveyard, also one lot in Carthage for public use. In 1872 by will Agatha (Hussey) Pusey gave •'fl.OOO to the Inilianj State Bible Society for Bibles to be given to the poor in her native sta't, North Carolina.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
south of the present Walnut Ridge Meeting House, in which meetings for w'orship and business were regularly held. Benjamin Hill, from Richmond, Ind., built a saw mill at the point on Big Blue River, where Carthage mills now are, in 1826, and a flouring grist mill in 182S, his father, Robert Hill, was the owner. This grist mill, known as Hill's Mills, supplied by the never failing waters of Big Blue River, ground the corn and wheat for a large territorj' in pioneer times. Henry Henley came in 1828, and John Clark about
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Carthage, on Big Blue River, the second place in point of size in the county, is a good town of 600 inhabitants, surrounded by a fine agricultural region. Milroy is the third town in size, and, since the completion of the Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville Railroad, has grown rapidly. Its location, nearly equidistant between Greensburg and Rushville, and a good farming communit}- supporting it, promise well for its future. Moscow, Richland, New Salem, and Raleigh are thriving, pleasant villages, off the railroad lines. Ma-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"The first settlers who were here were Friends and constituted the meeting known as Walnut Ridge about iy, miles west of Carthage. They were Thomas Hill, .Jonathan Hill on the east, and .John Hill. Xatlian Hill and Simson Taylor further west in 1821. Jesse Hill was probably the first Friend who settled a little east of Carthage in 182(;. In the same year came the four Binford brothers. Micajah Binford settled on the west side of Blue River on a section of land adjoining Robert Hill on the east side. From 1820 to 1837, Jonathan Jessup. Abraham Small, Luke
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereMargaret Hill McCarter is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carthage. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Carthage.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Carthage’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 481 and 1,065 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carthage’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1834, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Carthage’s post office opened in 1835, and the census of 1870 counted 481 people here.
One place: the Henley, Henry, Public Library (listed 2016).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2016
2007