Sparta, Georgia

Sparta, Georgia
Town
Location in Hancock County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 33°17′N 82°58′W / 33.283°N 82.967°WCoordinates: 33°17′N 82°58′W / 33.283°N 82.967°W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Hancock
Area
• Total	1.8 sq mi (4.7 km^2)
• Land	1.8 sq mi (4.7 km^2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km^2)
Elevation	660 ft (200 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,522
• Density	694/sq mi (323.8/km^2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	31087
Area code(s)	706
FIPS code	13-72584[1]
GNIS feature ID	0323330[2]

Sparta is a town in Hancock County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,522 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Hancock County.^[3] It is part of the Milledgeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Sparta was founded in 1795 in the newly formed Hancock County. It was designated county seat in 1797. It was incorporated as a town in 1805 and as a city in 1893.^[4]

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

Major Highways

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

Geography

Sparta is located at 33°17′N 82°58′W / 33.283°N 82.967°W (33.2773, -82.9715).^[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
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%
Est. 2015	1,293	[6]	−7.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]

According to the 2010 census^[1] estimate, there were 1,522 people, 617 households and 385 families residing in the city. The population density was 835.4 per square mile (322.9/km²). There were 725 housing units at an average density of 397.9 per square mile (153.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 15.20% White, 83.70% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.33% Asian, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

There were 617 households of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.4% were married couples living together, 31.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.20.

Age distribution was 27.4% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.3 males.

The median household income was $21,664, and the median family income was $24,044. Males had a median income of $21,375 versus $17,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,403. About 31.8% of families and 34.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.2% of those under age 18 and 38.4% of those age 65 or over.

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.^[8] The district has 103 full-time teachers and over 1,659 students.^[9]

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

Notable people

• Thomas "Pee Wee" Butts - professional baseball player^[10]
• Gin Chappell - first black female mayor of Sparta
• George Darden - United States Representative from Georgia who went to high school in Sparta
• Chip Andrews - University of Georgia and USFL Jacksonville Bulls Football Player
• Harvey Grant - professional basketball player
• Horace Grant - professional basketball player
• Tommy Hurricane Jackson — professional boxer
• Jean Toomer — Harlem Renaissance writer and poet, once served as a principal in Sparta
• Keyvontay Huff - Nobel Prize winner for his groundbreaking research into the causes of earthquakes

See also

• Central Savannah River Area

References

1. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
4. Hellmann, Paul T. (May 13, 2013). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 247. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
5. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
6. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. Georgia Board of Education, Retrieved June 11, 2010.
9. School Stats, Retrieved June 11, 2010.
10. "Thomas Butts". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.

Further reading

• "History of Sparta, Georgia", Georgia Encyclopedia (John Rozier, Emory University), 12/5/2008
• Kent Anderson Leslie, Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege: Amanda America Dickson, 1849-1893 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1995).
• John Rozier, Black Boss: Political Revolution in a Georgia County (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1982).
• John Rozier, The Houses of Hancock, 1785-1865 (Decatur, Ga.: privately printed, 1996).
• John Rozier, ed., The Granite Farm Letters: The Civil War Correspondence of Edgeworth and Sallie Bird (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1988).
• Forrest Shivers, The Land Between: A History of Hancock County, Georgia, to 1940 (Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Co., 1990).

External links

• Sparta historical marker
• Sparta Cemetery historical marker
• Pierce Memorial Methodist Church historical marker