Jasper County, Missouri

The Jasper County Courthouse is located at 302 South Main Street, Carthage MO 64836; phone: 417-358-0421.

Beginnings [1]

For approximately $3,700 in cash and merchandise, the area which is now Jasper County was purchased from the Osage Indians in 1808. The first white settlers arrived in 1831 and Jasper County proper was established in 1838 by an act of the Missouri Legislature. The name of the county was chosen in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a military hero of the Revolutionary War. The first county court session was held in the log home of George Hornback, which is, today, the oldest remaining structure in southwest Missouri. Carthage, the county seat, was founded in 1842.

1. MacMorran, Caryl B. and Hallenberg, Heather M., Carthage Historic Preservation, Inc., Historic Resources of the City of Carthage, nomination document, 1980, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.