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Sparta, Georgia

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Sparta census division. It lies in ZIP code area 31087. The Survey maps it on the Sparta quadrangle. 1,357 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 659 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Sparta within Hancock County

On record in Sparta

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 5 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 12 records

Population over time

2 figures

Sparta fell from 1,400 to 1,357 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,400
20201,357-43 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Photographs

8 of 24 photographs shown, 1939

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Sayre-Shivers House, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Sayre-Shivers House, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1939. Library of Congress
Terrell-Stone House, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Terrell-Stone House, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1939. Library of Congress
Morris House, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Morris House, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1939. Library of Congress
House, Sparta vic., Hancock County, Georgia
House, Sparta vic., Hancock County, Georgia
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1939. Library of Congress
Drummer's Hotel, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Drummer's Hotel, Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1939. Library of Congress
Granite Hill Plantation, Silo, South side of State Route 16, 1.3 miles northeast of Sparta, Sparta, Hancock County, GA
Granite Hill Plantation, Silo, South side of State Route 16, 1.3 miles northeast of Sparta, Sparta, Hancock County, GA
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Judge Little House, Main Street, Sparta, Hancock County, GA
Judge Little House, Main Street, Sparta, Hancock County, GA
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Hancock County Courthouse, Town Square, Sparta, Hancock County, GA
Hancock County Courthouse, Town Square, Sparta, Hancock County, GA
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Hancock County

Fires near this place

202 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 202 fires within 5 miles of Sparta between 1992 and 2019, burning about 883 acres in total. 14 started naturally. 15 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning112
Equipment and vehicle use22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined18
Arson/incendiarism15
Natural14
Misuse of fire by a minor11
Smoking7
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 2010Debris and open burning1.6 acresGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2011-HANCOCK-003
3 September 2018Debris and open burning13 acresGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2019HANCOCK002
22 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 2007Arson/incendiarismunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 1999Debris and open burning1.9 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 1999Smoking7.8 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 2007Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hancock County

Storms near this place

23 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sparta in 23 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 16 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2009Tornado (EF0)Sparta$10,000A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that a brief EF1 tornado touched down approximately two miles northwest of Sparta and traveled only 1.5 miles before lifting. This was the first of three tornadoes to touch down in Hancock county between 1019 pm EDT and 1028 pm EDT, each near Sparta. This tornado was determined to have a maximum path width of 100 feet with maximum winds estimated at 80 mph. This first tornado tracked through a quite rural area. However, one mobile home suffered moderate damage to its roof, siding, and windows.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindSparta$10,000The Sparta Ishmaelite newspaper reported that thunderstorm winds ripped off a newly installed metal roof at the Sparta High School. This portion of the building housed the Board of Education's central office. The wind also damaged much of the wooden frame constructed above the old roof which was designed to support the new roof. Many trees and power lines were also downed in the Sparta area causing many of the city's residents to be without power for three hours.
April 2017Thunderstorm WindSparta$6,000The broadcast media reported trees blown down on Highway 15 between the Dollar General and On-the-Way Motors.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindSparta$6,000The Hancock County Emergency Manager reported a couple of large pecan trees blown down in Sparta.
May 1994Thunderstorm WindSparta$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees along Georgia Highway 16.
February 1993Thunderstorm WindSparta$5,000Several large tree limbs were downed.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindSparta$4,500no account filed
February 2003Thunderstorm WindSparta$3,000The Hancock county 911 center reported that several trees and some power lines were blown down.
January 2001Thunderstorm WindSparta$3,000The Hancock county 911 center reported that trees were blown down 5 miles east of Sparta and also on the west side of the county.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindSparta$2,000The Hancock County 911 Center reported that up to four trees were down, a couple on power lines.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindSparta$2,000Hancock county 911 reported several trees were down on power lines.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindSparta$2,000Several trees and limbs were knocked down by thunderstorm winds in Mayfield.
February 2025Thunderstorm WindSparta$1,000A tree was downed in the 3000 block of linton road.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindSparta$1,000The Hancock County 911 center reported a tree blown down on Gilbert Circle.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindSparta$1,000The Hancock county 911 center reported that several trees were down along Georgia Highway 77 northwest of Sparta.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindSparta$500Thunderstorm winds knocked trees down on power lines in White Plains and Sparta.
July 2008HailSparta-The Hancock County Emergency Management Director observed penny-sized hail in downtown Sparta at the court house.
May 2003HailSparta-The Hancock county Emergency Management Director reported penny-sized hail.
May 2002HailSparta-The Hancock county 911 center reported quarter size hail.
May 1996HailSparta-no account filed
March 1996HailSparta-no account filed
February 1993HailSparta-no account filed
March 1993Thunderstorm WindSparta-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hancock County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Granite Hill2.5 miles10
Glenford (historical)3.3 miles10
Sunshine (historical)3.4 miles10
Culverton4.9 miles10
Mount Zion6.1 miles10
Devereux6.3 miles13
Zebulon6.5 miles13
Howell Grove6.8 miles10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on SpartaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2670509The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 323330. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.