Kendrick House

The oldest home in Jasper County, built in 1849 by wealthy blacksmith and gunsmith William Kendrick. During the Civil War, the house served as a hospital and headquarters for both Union and Confederate armies, witnessing tremendous suffering.

The Kendrick House in Carthage, Missouri, built in 1849, is the oldest standing home in the region and one of the few structures that survived the devastating Civil War battles that reduced much of Carthage to ashes. Its survival through that terrible conflict may explain why so many spirits seem reluctant to leave -- the house absorbed the trauma of war and has been radiating it back ever since.

During the Civil War, the Kendrick House served multiple grim purposes for both armies. After the Battle of Carthage in July 1861 -- the first full-scale land battle of the Civil War -- the house was commandeered as a field hospital for Union soldiers, its parlor converted into an operating room where wounded men were treated amid the chaos of combat. When the Confederates took Carthage, they in turn used the house for their own purposes. General Jo Shelby's cavalry forces occupied the property, and the hoofprints of his horses were pressed so deeply into the wooden floors that they remain visible to this day, permanent scars from that violent occupation.

The civilian residents of the Kendrick House endured their own horrors. Women and children hid beneath the floorboards of the parlor during the worst of the fighting, crouching in darkness while the sounds of battle raged above them. The psychological terror of those hours left an imprint that paranormal investigators believe still resonates within the walls.

Among the most active spirits is Carol Sue Janney, a descendant of the original family, who was nicknamed "Carot." Carol's ghost frequently interacts with visitors, particularly in playful ways that suggest a personality comfortable with guests. Her aunt Pauline is also believed to remain in the house, and the two spirits sometimes seem to engage with each other and with the living simultaneously. One of the most commonly reported phenomena involves the upstairs curtains, whose edges are found tucked back as if by small hands -- said to be the ghost of a child peeking out the window at the world below.

In the room containing the original Civil War-era operating table, EVP recordings have captured voices that investigators believe are connected to the soldiers who were treated and died there. The voices are often indistinct but carry a quality of pain and urgency that is consistent with the anguished pleas of wounded men. The non-profit organization Victorian Carthage now manages the Kendrick House, offering Haunted History Tours and paranormal investigations that draw visitors from across the country. The tours focus on the intertwined history of the house and the Civil War, allowing guests to experience a location where the boundary between past and present remains remarkably thin.