BlockBefore

Sparta, Illinois

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1914 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Sparta precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 62286. The Survey maps it on the Steeleville quadrangle. 4,095 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 482 feet above sea level.

Sparta within Randolph 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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Sparta fell from 4,302 to 4,095 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
20104,302
20204,095-207 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 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.

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Sparta: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Randolph County Highway DepartmentStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Randolph County

Storms near this place

48 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sparta in 48 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 27 hail, 19 thunderstorm wind, 2 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 1994Thunderstorm WindSparta$50,000County officials reported a garage blown down along Highway 154 in Baldwin. A mobile home was heavily damaged in Sparta and several mobile home roofs were damaged in Coulterville. The county sheriff also reported trees and power lines down through out the county.
February 1999Thunderstorm WindSparta$10,000no account filed
April 1993Thunderstorm WindSparta$5,000A radio station reported downed power lines with wind gusts to 60 mph.
March 1996Thunderstorm WindSparta$5,000no account filed
April 1994Thunderstorm WindSparta$500The county sheriff reported numerous trees down between Sparta and Tilden along Highway 4.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindSparta-Thunderstorm winds downed a tree limb which damaged a mobile home. They also broke 2 power poles near the intersection of Route 154 and Plum Creek Road.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindSparta-Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees around town. One tree fell onto a house causing moderate damage.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindSparta-Thunderstorm winds blew down two trees on north side of town. One of the trees fell onto a house causing moderate roof damage and the other one fell onto power lines.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindSparta-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindSparta-Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous large tree limbs.
May 2008HailSparta-Storm spotters reported hail up to one inch fell on and off for about 30 minutes.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindSparta-An early morning thunderstorm caused scattered wind damage in Sparta. Large tree limbs and a few power lines were down. At least 1000 people lost power for about 4 hours.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindSparta-Storm spotters reported large tree limbs and power lines down.
November 2004Tornado (F0)Sparta-A small tornado uprooted and snapped off large trees at the Sparta Country Club.
November 2004Thunderstorm WindSparta-Thunderstorm wind gusts caused minor damage at a mobile home part on the south side of Sparta. A couple of trees were downed with one partially falling on a mobile home.
November 2004Tornado (F0)Sparta-A small tornado caused damage in downtown Sparta. Half of the roof of a church was blown off, a chimney was damaged, roof shingles blown off a couple of buildings, and some windows broken.
November 2004Thunderstorm WindSparta-Thunderstorm winds downed some trees, a sign, and damaged the roof of a motel along Highway 154.
May 2003HailSparta-The public reported nickel size hail in Sparta.
May 2003HailSparta-Fire Department personnel from Coulterville reported golfball size hail.
April 2002HailSparta-Storm spotters reported 3/4 inch hail west of Sparta.
April 2002HailSparta-Storm spotters reported 3/4 inch hail.
June 2001HailSparta-Storm spotters reported nickel size hail in Sparta.
May 1998HailSparta-Spotters reported 3/4 inch hail south of Sparta.
March 2008HailSparta-no account filed
April 2007HailSparta-no account filed
March 2006HailSparta-no account filed
March 2006HailSparta-no account filed
April 2006Thunderstorm WindSparta-no account filed
April 2006HailSparta-no account filed
May 2006HailSparta-no account filed
September 2003HailSparta-no account filed
April 2003HailSparta-no account filed
April 2003HailSparta-no account filed
May 2003HailSparta-no account filed
May 2003HailSparta-no account filed
April 2002HailSparta-no account filed
April 2002HailSparta-no account filed
August 2002HailSparta-no account filed
February 1999HailSparta-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindSparta-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindSparta-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindSparta-no account filed
June 1998HailSparta-no account filed
March 1997HailSparta-no account filed
April 1997HailSparta-no account filed
June 1996HailSparta-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindSparta-no account filed
March 1996HailSparta-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Randolph 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
Eden1.8 miles12
Schuline4.7 miles13
Houston4.9 miles12
Blair5.8 miles12
Tilden6.2 miles12
Coulterville6.7 miles12
Walsh8.2 miles13
Steeleville8.3 miles12

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 Q575519The 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 418880. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.