Sparta, Georgia

Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Georgia, United States.^[4] The city's population was 1,357 at the 2020 census.

Sparta, Georgia
City
Sparta Historic District
Location in Hancock County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 33°17′N 82°58′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Hancock
Area [1]
• 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.cityofsparta.org

History

Sparta was founded in 1795 in the newly formed Hancock County. It became the county seat in 1797, was incorporated as a town in 1805, and later 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

Sparta is located at 33°17′N 82°58′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

• State Route 15
• State Route 16
• State Route 22

Demographics

Historical population

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] 1850-1870[11] 1870-1880[12] 1890-1910[13] 1920-1930[14] 1940[15] 1950[16] 1960[17] 1970[18] 1980[19] 1990[20] 2000[21] 2010[22]

Sparta racial composition as of 2020^[23]

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

Sparta is the site of Georgia's Hancock State Prison.

Education

Hancock County School District

The Hancock County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.^[24] The district has 83 full-time teachers and over 670 students.

• Lewis Elementary School
• Hancock Central Middle School
• Hancock Central High School
• John Hancock Academy

Notable people

• Thomas "Pee Wee" Butts – professional baseball player^[25]
• 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 the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• Central Savannah River Area
• Rossiter-Little House - Oldest house in Sparta
• DREAM Streets Sparta Facebook page