Sparta is a town and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
, United States. As of the
2020 census, the population of the town was 1,834.
History
James H. Parks, an early businessman whose store stood near the present location of the
ABC store, was one of three men who donated land for the county seat in 1866. Parks is credited with suggesting the name "
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
", after the Greek city-state.
Noteworthy businesses established in Sparta included ''
The Alleghany News'' (1889), the Bank of Sparta (1902), and the second store purchased by home improvement giant
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...
(1949). Sparta's first shopping center, Trojan Village, opened in 1977, followed by Sparta Plaza in 1986.
The
Alleghany County Courthouse and
Jarvis House are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
On August 9, 2020, the town was the epicenter of
a moderate earthquake that was felt as far as
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. The earthquake, which registered as a 5.1 on the
Richter magnitude scale
The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
, was the largest earthquake to occur in North Carolina in over 100 years.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.32%, is water.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 1,834 people, 732 households, and 409 families residing in the town.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 1,817 people, 825 households, and 441 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 922 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.06%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.98%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.17%
Native American, 0.55%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 2.20% from
other races, and 0.99% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 7.71% of the population.
There were 825 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.5% were non-families. 41.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.71.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $22,474, and the median income for a family was $37,596. Males had a median income of $23,304 versus $18,281 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $14,237. About 10.6% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 17.0% of those under age 18 and 33.0% of those age 65 or over.
Notable locations
* The
Sparta Teapot Museum (now permanently closed).
Notable people
*
Boyden Carpenter (1909–1995),
bluegrass artist
Old time music performed by Boyden Carpenter, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, part 2
''loc.gov''. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
* Zach Galifianakis
Zachary Knight Galifianakis (; born October 1, 1969) is an American actor, comedian and writer. The accolades he has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award.
Galifianakis ...
(born 1969), American actor, comedian, musician and writer
* Del Reeves
Franklin Delano Reeves (July 14, 1932 – January 1, 2007) was an American country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American ...
(1932–2007), country singer
References
External links
Town of Sparta official website
Alleghany Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control
Towns in North Carolina
Towns in Alleghany County, North Carolina
County seats in North Carolina