On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sparta Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sparta Township’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sparta Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Sparta Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Britain Run
1863–1864
Glyndon
1868–1907
Britton Run
1894–1902
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Britton RunHatchtown
Gone or out of use
Enterprise Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sparta Township
Britton RunValley View MennoniteWhitneyWoodlawn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Sparta Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sparta Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sparta Township is a township in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,914 at the 2020 census, up from 1,832 at the 2010 census. The Township surrounds Spartansburg, a borough of a few hundred people.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,832 to 1,910 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Sparta Township in 1885
Passages that mention Sparta Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Crawford County, Pennsylvania1885 · page 1010Read the page →
Read the text
to Meadville, Penn., and subsequently became prominent in this part of the county. Acting as land agent for T. B. Kennedy, who owned thousands of acres of land through this section, he was probably the best posted person in regard to the early settlements and improvements of Sparta Township. He died April 20, 1884, honored and respected by all. His widow, now residing in Spartansburg, is descended from one of the pioneer families of this township. To them were born three childi-en, two now living: Warren W. and Horace, also residing here. Our subject worked at carpentering three years,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
history of crawford county, pennsylvania1885 · page 632Read the page →
Read the text
in 1817 came from Granville, Washington Co., N. Y., to Meadville, andin the following spring to Sparta, settling on Tract 158, a mile south of Spartansburg, where he died July 20, 1848, aged sixty-two years. He was soon followed to Sparta Township by his brothers, David, Jason, Hiram, Jesse, Gersham aud John, and their father David. The father had been a Captain in the war of 1812; he settled on Tract 150, a mile and a half southwest from Spartansburg and remained till death. David Blakeslee, Jr., also settled on this tract. Jason found a home on Tract 1663, in the southwest part, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Sparta Township, 1850 to 1929
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sparta Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1929Corry sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sparta Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Crawford County - ED 20-42, ED 20-43A, ED 20-43B, ED 20-…, 1850
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sparta Township’s page.
Sparta Township is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Sparta Township?
14% of Sparta Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1984.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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