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Sparta, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Sparta Historic District | |
 Location in Hancock County and the state of Georgia | |
| Coordinates: 33°17′N 82°58′W / 33.283°N 82.967°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Hancock |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.82 sq mi (4.72 km2) |
| • Land | 1.81 sq mi (4.69 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,357 |
| • Density | 749.31/sq mi (289.27/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 31087 |
| Area code | 706 |
| FIPS code | 13-72584[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0323330[3] |
| Website | www |
Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Georgia, United States.[4] It used to be part of the Milledgeville micropolitan statistical area until 2023. The city's population was 1,400 at the 2010 census.
History
[edit]Sparta was founded in 1795 in the newly formed Hancock County. The town was designated county seat in 1797. It was incorporated as a town in 1805 and as a city in 1893.[5] The community was named after Sparta, a city-state in Ancient Greece.[6]
In 1864, during Sherman's March to the Sea, the town remained completely unscathed, reportedly due to the efforts of Confederate Captain Henry Culver, the son-in-law of local industrialist William Fraley, who successfully diverted Union troops away from the area.[7][8]
Geography
[edit]Sparta is located at 33°17′N 82°58′W / 33.283°N 82.967°W (33.2773, -82.9715).[9] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2), all land.
Major highways
[edit]
Demographics
[edit]| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 848 | — | |
| 1890 | 1,540 | 81.6% | |
| 1900 | 1,150 | −25.3% | |
| 1910 | 1,715 | 49.1% | |
| 1920 | 1,895 | 10.5% | |
| 1930 | 1,613 | −14.9% | |
| 1940 | 1,872 | 16.1% | |
| 1950 | 1,954 | 4.4% | |
| 1960 | 1,921 | −1.7% | |
| 1970 | 2,172 | 13.1% | |
| 1980 | 1,754 | −19.2% | |
| 1990 | 1,710 | −2.5% | |
| 2000 | 1,522 | −11.0% | |
| 2010 | 1,400 | −8.0% | |
| 2020 | 1,357 | −3.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 189 | 13.93% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,116 | 82.24% |
| Native American | 1 | 0.07% |
| Asian | 23 | 1.69% |
| Other/Mixed | 17 | 1.25% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 11 | 0.81% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,357 people, 669 households, and 419 families residing in the city.
Economy
[edit]Sparta is the site of Georgia's Hancock State Prison.
Education
[edit]Hancock County School District
[edit]The Hancock County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.[12] The district has 103 full-time teachers and over 1,659 students.[13]
- Lewis Elementary School
- Hancock Central Middle School
- Hancock Central High School
- John Hancock Academy
Notable people
[edit]- Thomas "Pee Wee" Butts – professional baseball player[14]
- George Darden – United States Representative from Georgia who went to high school in Sparta
- Harvey Grant – professional basketball player
- Horace Grant – professional basketball player
- Tommy Hurricane Jackson – professional boxer
- Adella Hunt Logan – suffragist
- Jean Toomer – Harlem Renaissance writer and poet, once served as a principal in Sparta
- Angeria Paris VanMicheals – drag queen and finalist on season 14 of RuPaul's Drag Race and winner of ninth season
See also
[edit]
- Central Savannah River Area
- Rossiter-Little House - Oldest house in Sparta
- DREAM Streets Sparta Facebook page
References
[edit]- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Hellmann, Paul T. (May 13, 2013). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 247. ISBN 978-1135948597. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 210. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
- ^ "William Fraley". www.friendsofcems.org. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ "Sparta - Georgia Historical Society". www.georgiahistory.com/. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ Georgia Board of Education[permanent dead link], Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ School Stats, Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ "Thomas Butts". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
Further reading
[edit]- "History of Sparta, Georgia", Georgia Encyclopedia (John Rozier, Emory University), 12/5/2008
- Kent Anderson Leslie, Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1995).
- John Rozier, Black Boss: Political Revolution in a Georgia County (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1982).
- John Rozier, The Houses of Hancock, 1785-1865 (Decatur, Ga.: privately printed, 1996).
- John Rozier, ed., The Granite Farm Letters: The Civil War Correspondence of Edgeworth and Sallie Bird (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1988).
- Forrest Shivers, The Land Between: A History of Hancock County, Georgia, to 1940 (Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Co., 1990).
External links
[edit]- Sparta historical marker
- Sparta Cemetery historical marker
- Pierce Memorial Methodist Church historical marker
Municipalities and communities of Hancock County, Georgia, United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
