Carthage
Ghost town · Lawrence County, South Dakota

Carthage is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota. It is one of 25 former communities in Lawrence County on the federal names register. No county in South Dakota has more among the 26 South Dakota counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Carthage as a historical populated place on the Lead topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 44.3305° N, 103.8088° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Lead |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 5,899 ft |
| Nearest living town | Lead, SD |
| Distance to it | 2.6 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1264569 |
| Coordinates | 44.33054, -103.80881 |
What's there now
Carthage is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Lead, SD (population 2,997), about 2.6 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 5,899 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Trojanghost town · Lawrence County · 1.7 mi
- Flatiron Ighost town · Lawrence County · 2 mi
- Flatironghost town · Lawrence County · 2 mi
- Cartesvilleghost town · Lawrence County · 2.6 mi
- Cartervilleghost town · Lawrence County · 3.1 mi
- Terravilleghost town · Lawrence County · 3.1 mi
- Blacktailghost town · Lawrence County · 3.6 mi
- Lancaster Cityghost town · Lawrence County · 3.8 mi
- Ragged Topghost town · Lawrence County · 4.3 mi
- Maitlandghost town · Lawrence County · 4.6 mi
- Dacyghost town · Lawrence County · 5.2 mi
- Carbonateghost town · Lawrence County · 5.6 mi
Questions
Where is Carthage?
Carthage is in Lawrence County, South Dakota, at 44.3305, -103.8088.
How many ghost towns are in Lawrence County?
Lawrence County, South Dakota has 25 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.