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History · Sparta

Sparta was first counted by the census in 1880, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Benjamin F. Turley House. Its Register listing is the Benjamin F. Turley House. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1880first census
1on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sparta began

When was Sparta founded?

1880

Sparta first appears in the census in 1880. Another post office, Sparta Station (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 62 in 18802020 census: 236146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Sparta’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sparta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 563 in 1940; 236 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Sparta’s homes were built before 1949.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sparta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sparta’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Sparta, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 563

Peaked at 563 in 1940; 236 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sparta’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Sparta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sparta.

Read it all →

Sparta began as a village named "Brock's Station" in 1802, and was incorporated as a town in 1852. The community took its name from the local Sparta gristmill. Sparta became a stop on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad; the CSX railroad still runs through Sparta along Eagle Creek.

Interstate 71 now is one mile from the city. In 1999, the Kentucky Speedway was built to eventually host a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. In 2000, the Truck Series raced the inaugural race, and an Xfinity Series race was held the next year. Finally in 2011, the Sprint Cup Series came and hosted their inaugural race.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sparta, 1870 to 1951

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Sparta Station post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Sparta Station post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Sparta post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 563
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sparta, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Sparta, Kentucky - October 2023 - Sarah Stierch2023Sparta, Kentucky - October 2023 - Sarah StierchKYMap-doton-Sparta2004KYMap-doton-Sparta
On the map

Sparta on the map, 1951 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sparta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Sparta on the 1951 USGS mapSparta on the 1969 USGS mapSparta on the 1987 USGS map1951Sanders sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sparta.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Sparta

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Benjamin F. Turley House
Benjamin F. Turley House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Benjamin F. Turley HouseGothic Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Sparta

Nobody well known was born in Sparta itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ken MaynardAmerican actor and stunt performer · b. 1895
Arnie RisenAmerican basketball player · b. 1924
Kermit MaynardActor, stunt performer · b. 1897
Lydia Moss BradleyAmerican philanthropist; founded Bradley Univer… · b. 1816
Richard Yates13th Governor of Illinois, U.S. Senator · b. 1815
Edward EgglestonNovelist, historian, clergyman · b. 1837
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Sparta’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Sparta Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sparta Station
1870–1882
Sparta
1882–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Old Sparta
Gone or out of use
Park Ridge Churchchurch

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Sparta’s history

What year was Sparta founded?

The Sparta post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Sparta?

One place: the Benjamin F. Turley House (listed 1979).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.