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B−History
History · Carthage

Carthage dates to 1847, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #118 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Carthage was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the Panola County Jail. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1880.

1847founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carthage’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carthage began

When was Carthage founded?

1847

Carthage dates its founding to 1847 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 290 in 18802020 census: 6,569179 years

How historic is Carthage?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Carthage’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carthage is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #118 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carthage’s overall grade.
Founding era1847, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±2.2) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 1.5 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 82%

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Carthage’s 1.5 sits above most of its state (74% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1847.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Carthage’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Deep rootsEstablished in 1847: 179 years of Carthage.Famous sons and daughtersDerek Wayne Johnson, Kip Harkrider and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Carthage, 1847 to 1983

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847
    FoundingCarthage is established
  3. 1849Post officeThe Carthage post office opens
  4. 1891Born hereAnna Johnson Dupree is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903In the archiveThe Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 13, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 26, 1903
  7. 1917In the archiveThe Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 31, 1917
  8. 1936In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes, Photographer November 14, 1936 FRON…
  9. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1975Born hereKip Harkrider is born here
  11. 1983Born hereDerek Wayne Johnson is born here
  12. 1983Born hereMichael Montgomery is born here
Famous people

13 famous people were born in Carthage

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Derek Wayne JohnsonFilmmaker · b. 1983
K
Kip HarkriderBaseball player · b. 1975
Michael MontgomeryPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1983
Anna Johnson DupreeAmerican businesswoman and philanthropist · b. 1891
B
Bud MarshallAmerican football player · b. 1941
J
Jack Boynton StrongAmerican politician · b. 1930
The story

How Carthage came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carthage.

Read it all →

Carthage was founded in 1847, two years after Texas was admitted to the United States. During the Civil War, men from Carthage and Panola County served as Confederate soldiers. African-American resident Milton M. Holland, formerly enslaved, served as a Union sergeant and earned a Medal of Honor.

Carthage was established in 1834 and became the county seat. The Harrises were early settlers and named the town after their former home of Carthage, Tennessee. When Carthage established in 1848, it was named after Carthage, Mississippi.

Chapters1996 murder of Marjorie Nugent

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Carthage, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s6 items
The Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 13, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 26, 19031903The Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 1…The Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 31, 19171917The Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 9…Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes, Photographer November 14, 1936 FRONT AND EAST SIDE ELEVATION. - J…1936Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes,…Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes, Photographer November 14, 1936 FRONT AND SIDE ELEVATION. - Snow H…1936Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes,…Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes, Photographer November 14, 1936 FRONT ELEVATION. - Dempsey Morris …1936Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes,…Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes, Photographer November 14, 1936 FRONT ELEVATION. - J. B. Parker Ho…1936Historic American Buildings Survey, Harry L. Starnes,…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Carthage on the map, 1958 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Carthage. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Carthage on the 1958 USGS mapCarthage on the 1983 USGS map1958Carthage sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Carthage.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

The Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 13, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 26, 1903
Retake this viewThe Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 13, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 26, 1903, 1903

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 · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Carthage

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Panola County Jail
Panola County Jail
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque Revival1
Panola County JailRomanesque Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Carthage, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,779

Between 290 and 6,779 people in every census since 1880.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Carthage’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Carthage’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Carthage’s history

What year was Carthage founded?

In 1847, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Carthage’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1880 counted 290 people here.

How does Carthage rank for history?

Carthage is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #118 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Carthage?

One place: the Panola County Jail (listed 1976).

How old are the homes in Carthage?

2% of Carthage’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1977.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.