Sparks, Maryland
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Sparks 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 ...
that is located in Baltimore County,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, United States. It is situated approximately north of
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
and is considered to be a suburb of the City of Baltimore. The Gunpowder River runs through Sparks. The popular North Central Railroad ("NCR") Hike-Bike Trail runs through Sparks along the basin of the Gunpowder Falls (a.k.a. the Gunpowder River). The town's ZIP Code is 21152 and it is frequently accessed at Exit 24, Belfast Road, along
Interstate 83 Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway located in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; its ...
, a Highway that runs from Baltimore to
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...
. Although Sparks is unincorporated and has no official town limits, the area that is usually considered to constitute Sparks runs from several miles west of I-83 to Carroll Road to the east, and from north of Hunt Valley/Cockeysville along York Road and I-83 to
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
. According to the 2010 US Census, 5,094 people live in the Sparks area. Glencoe is a smaller community that is largely surrounded by Sparks and the area is sometimes collectively known as "Sparks Glencoe, Maryland".


History


1800s

In 1835, the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad constructed a track through Baltimore County which included a siding and switch near a large tract of land owned by the Sparks family. Railroad officials gave the name Sparks to the switch, and soon area residents began to refer to the location as "Sparks' Switch." Abraham Lincoln's body was carried through Sparks on the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad from Washington, D.C., on its way to burial in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
following his assassination in 1865. For a number of years a creamery was operated for farmers who brought their milk in daily to be separated. (The stone structure which once housed the creamery can be seen today.) The cream was shipped to Baltimore while the skim milk was used by the farmers on their farms. With the passage of time, Sparks' Switch came to be known simply as "Sparks." In 1888, the area had grown to a point where "a substantial foot bridge 6 feet in width" had to be built across the Gunpowder River. Beginning in 1889, a combination passenger and freight station was operated by the Northern Central Railway (NCR) along the right-of-way and line that had previously been known as the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad. A passenger and freight stop along the North Central Railroad was named Sparks Station. Railroad operations through Sparks ceased in 1972, as a direct result of major damage to the tracks and rail bed that occurred during flooding that followed Hurricane Agnes. The section along York Road that is today known as Sparks was previously named Philopolis. (The name "Philopolis" is from the Greek and means "Love Town." Today, a subdivision of Sparks is named "Loveton Farms."). The original town of Sparks, as distinguished from Philopolis was merely a cluster of homes and farms one mile to the east along the NCR tracks and Sparks Road. Philopolis was the site of the Milton Academy, a well known private day and boarding school for boys. Of note is the fact that one of the school's students was
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
. The Milton Academy stands today along York Road in Sparks and serves as one of the region's finest restaurants, the Milton Inn. Wallace Warfield Simpson, better known as the Duchess of Windsor, and the Princess of Jordan, graduated from the nearby Oldfields School, a private boarding school for young women. Also located in the area that was originally known as Sparks (along Sparks Road) was a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
and a
wheelwright A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...
shop, an
undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...
, a milliner, and a
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
. In time, the entire area came to be known as Sparks and the village of Philopolis disappeared from county maps.


1900s

In 1909, six small rural schools were consolidated into what is known today as the once-historic Sparks Elementary School building on Sparks Road. Sparks Elementary School was completely gutted by an electrical fire on the evening of January 8, 1995. Local television station crews (including Baltimore's WJZ-13 affiliate) were at the scene as the event unfolded. However, fire & rescue crews did not arrive until well after the electrical fire had completely destroyed the school's interior. Although remnants of the stone foundation and outer face of the building still remain, the once-historic stone building was clearly unsuitable to be used again for its original purpose. Returning students who were slated to continue classes at Sparks Elementary School from winter-spring of 1995 were instead transferred to a makeshift Elementary School wing set up within Cockeysville Middle School in Cockeysville, Maryland. Incoming students who were slated to begin kindergarten classes at Sparks Elementary School in the fall of 1995 were instead transferred to a makeshift kindergarten wing of Bosley Church in Sparks, on Thornton Mill Road, Maryland. In 1998, Sparks Elementary School was rebuilt on Belfast Road, approximately one mile west of its original location on Sparks Road. This new incarnation of Sparks Elementary School opened on November 23, 1998. In 1913, a general store and
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
was built and the post office was moved from York Road to Sparks Road. Sparks State Bank was built in 1916 next to the store along the NCR tracks. Both the bank and the post office have since been moved back to York Road, which now serves as the main area of local business. The bank moved in 1954 due to a decrease in train activity as well as repeated flooding from the Gunpowder River; some of the bank's safe deposit boxes were said to have contained water from past
flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
s. The original Sparks Bank building still stands and is now operated as a Nature Center for young children by volunteers of Gunpowder Falls State Park in conjunction with the NCR Hike and Bike Trail, which follows the old railroad path through northern Baltimore County.


Economy

Sparks, and in particular the Loveton business area, is the home of a growing economic presence. From 1995 until 2011, it was the headquarters of sportwear manufacturer FILA USA. KELLY, an employee benefits and payroll services provider with 500 employees moved to the former Fila headquarters in Sparks in June, 2015. Acclaimed video game development studio
Firaxis Games Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meie ...
also moved to the town in 2009. McCormick & Company, a Fortune 1000 company that manufactures spices, herbs, and flavorings for retail, commercial, and industrial markets, was headquartered in Sparks until late 2018. US Lacrosse moved its headquarters to Sparks in 2016. Apex Tool Group is based in Sparks.Bain nears deal to buy Apex Tool Group: sources
"
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
. Retrieved on February 19, 2021.


References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Maryland Unincorporated communities in Baltimore County, Maryland