Carthage's first school likely opened around 1848, on the town square's north side. (Surviving records are unclear at best, but numerous sources make mention of such a school.)
The first high school opened its doors at the present location in 1860, with Samuel Kealand acting as its first Principal. Officially named the Carthage Male and Female Academy, the school was built at a cost of $1,000, on donated land. As was fashionable at the time, the wood-framed building included a cupola, complete with a 125 lb (275 kg) cast iron bell, that was imported from Sheffield, England. The Male and Female Academy was destroyed in an 1861 fire, when the city was razed during the American Civil War. The bell is the only part of that original building that survives. It was restored and placed on permanent display in the current school in 1917, through donations from alumni.
Following the Civil War, the Central School was built in 1872, on the location of the destroyed Male and Female Academy. A stately red brick structure, it stood on the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets for the next 79 years. After construction of the current school building to its north, the old Central School building was converted to an annex and renamed the Manual Arts Building. The building was eventually demolished in 1951, to make way for the current school's gymnasium addition.
Due to the post-war zinc and lead mining boom in southwest Missouri, Carthage saw significant population growth. This led to the need for a larger high school. In 1904, the high school (the current junior high) was completed, at a cost of $100,000.
The new campus was completed in March 2009 and opened that same year in August. The building houses 9th through 12th grades and the former senior high, now the junior high, is home to 7th and 8th graders. Carthage High School is now located on the southeastern edge of town on River Street close to the facilities of the Fair Acres YMCA. In fact, the high school soccer and swim teams use the YMCA's pool and soccer fields to practice. The new Technical Center opened in 2010 on the high school campus.
Notably, the school's football stadium and related practice facilities are still located on the campus of the Carthage Middle School, on Centennial Avenue. There have been attempts in recent years to construct a new stadium on the land adjacent to the high school along with a separate soccer/track and field complex and much more.