Editor’s note: The original January 2022 version of this article was lost. The Lee Daily Register rebuilt it in October 2026 from the sources cited below, and added what happened afterward. The original version spelled the late owner’s name as “Rubicon” and said she built the second house. We found no reporting that she built it; local coverage describes her restoring the property.
A pair of three-story Victorian mansions in Carthage, Missouri, connected by a tunnel that runs between their basements, is for sale with an asking price of $3.1 million.
The property at 1201 E. Chestnut St. sits on about 13 acres. Together the two homes have eight bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and 16,851 square feet, according to a KTVI report published by KSNF in Joplin. The listing drew national attention after the Zillow Gone Wild social media accounts shared it on Dec. 27.
Marble, stained glass and a walk-in safe
The listing highlights Carthage marble, stained and beveled glass, chandeliers and detailed woodwork throughout both houses. Beyond the tunnel, buyers would also get a walk-in safe. The grounds hold two unusual extras: a full-size caboose parked on old tracks behind the carriage house, and an enclosed brick gazebo with a wooden throne that appears to have been carved from a large tree growing up through the floor, KTVI reported.
The Willis Team of Realty Executives Tri-States in Joplin is handling the sale.
A Civil War doctor’s house
The older home, known as the Carter Mansion, was built between 1893 and 1896 for Dr. John Carter. He served in the Union Army as both a soldier and a physician, moved to Carthage after the war and went on to become the largest landowner in Jasper County, with 3,000 acres. He died in 1913 at age 79.
Its later owner, Ruth I. Kolpin, was a Carthage cable and radio businesswoman and philanthropist. She oversaw a careful restoration of both homes and spent her final years living in the carriage house, which she styled to look like a train depot. She died in April 2019 at 96. Both Carter and Kolpin have been inducted into the Hall of Carthage Heroes.
Her son, Ron Petersen Sr., and the Ruth I. Kolpin Foundation are the sellers, The Joplin Globe reported. Petersen told the paper his mother first rented the home when the family arrived in Carthage in 1963, and that she restored its black walnut woodwork and plaster ceilings.
What happened next
The houses did not sell at $3.1 million. After about a year on the market, the family turned to Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions, which scheduled online bidding for Jan. 19 to 25, 2023, with no reserve. The auction listing said the carriage house has an elevator and described a private underground walkway between the homes, according to Concierge Auctions.
The family called off the auction the night before it was due to start, after reviewing the opening bids with Sotheby’s officials, Petersen told The Joplin Globe in January 2023. The property went back to the Willis Team for a regular sale.
A later listing posted by Old Houses USA showed an asking price of $2.1 million on 12.84 acres. The Lee Daily Register found no report of a completed sale.
