Carthagena ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Mercer County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Established by African Americans, it was home to an agricultural and industrial boarding school for African American and Indian orphans. It is located at and has an elevation of .

History

Carthagena was laid out in 1840. It is named after Cartagena, a city in the south-east of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The village was started by Charles Moore from

Harrison County, Kentucky Harrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,692. Its county seat is Cynthiana. The county was founded in 1793 and named for Colonel Benjamin Harrison, an advocate for Kentuc ...

around the same time Mercer County was established. Charles Moore was a black man and owned 160

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s of land in Carthagena.

Black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...

lived in Carthagena for over 100 years, the last known member of the black community in Carthagena was Albert Bowles who died in 1957 and is buried in the black cemetery there. The land a black school stood on (

Emlen Institution Emlen Institution for the Benefit of Children of African and Indian Descent was an agricultural and industrial boarding school for African American and Native American Children in the United States. It was established in a bequest by Samuel Powe ...

) was purchased by the

Missionaries of the Precious Blood The Missionaries of the Precious Blood () is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. The name "Missionaries of the Precious Blood" is a shortened English translation of the La ...

(C.P.P.S.) for $4,500 on March 14, 1861. A

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

was built and named St. Charles Seminary. The St. Charles Center has been operated by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood since then.

References

Unincorporated communities in Mercer County, Ohio Unincorporated communities in Ohio 1824 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1824 Populated places established in 1840 {{NorthwestOH-geo-stub