Population:  2,213

Form of Government: Commissioner/Manager

Mayor:  William Walton

Town Manager:  Carol Sparks

Phone:  (910) 947-2331

Address:  4396 U.S. 15/501, 28327

Web site:  townofcarthage.org

Incorporation:  1796

Carthage, county seat of Moore, was permanently established in 1803 on land donated by Richardson Fagin. 

The town’s identity changed back and forth from Faginsville to Carthage until the state legislature settled the matter in 1814. 

County government, courts and many businesses now call the ­pleasant town of Carthage home. 

The imposing building now ­standing on Courthouse Square was erected in 1922, and is the fifth ­courthouse built on this site. The building houses county ­government offices and the ­commissioners’ ­meeting room.

Alexander Kelly and Thomas Tyson founded a carriage factory in Carthage that became a legend in industrial history and was the ­dominant county industry for 70 years. It ­produced buggies that were sold throughout the United States until the firm closed in 1925. 

Many fine, old stately homes still exist in the town, which is poetically known as “Sweet Carthage.”