BlockFrom the record
One of 13 National Register listings published here for Monroe County · listed in 1992 · category: District.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Water Street Commercial Historic District
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The listing
- Address. Roughly bounded by K, Main, Bridge and Spring Sts. and Jefferson Ave., Sparta, 54656
- When was it listed? November 1992
- Category. district
- City. Sparta city
- National Register reference number. 92001554 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
What happened here
An account from the chapter on Sparta city. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
The City Of Sparta 267
Janesville, Wisconsin, where it was mustered into service. The regiment left the state and went via Chicago to St. Louis, IMarch 26, 1862. "While on the Northwestern railroad, near Chicago, it met with a very serious accident, which resulted in the loss of twelve men. Company A alone having seven men killed and several were severely injured.
The ground it stands on
18,875 wordsThe chapter on Sparta City in History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, Past and Present : Including an Account of the Cities, Towns and Villages of the County [microform], published 1912 names Sparta. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Here the travelers took a rest for two days and began their return homeward. At the point where the two crossed the river they determined to ascertain what description the land bore and they marked the southwest quarter of section twentyfour in township seventeen, range four west, Avhicli is now included in the site of the city of Sparta.
Passage source: History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, Past and Present : Including an Account of the Cities, Towns and Villages of the County [microform], published 1912.
Mild tlnis lijid tile advantage of speed and beat Scarlc by one hour, tlius beeoiuing the owner of the hind. So had the question been settled otherwise, "Angelo" wouhl probably have been called "Searlo" or something of the kind. Mr. Kearle having lost tile luiddle site and not knowing that a city was to spring up on that forty acres took no farther interest in this claim and sold it for ^30.00. He also states that upon looking for iiis lumber he found that Petit had followed the rule that necessity knows of no hiw. and had used it in building a house for himself near Castle Kock. William Petit houglit a claim of 160 acres of land near the crossing of these two state roads, and Avhere the site of the city now is; he built a log cabin on the bank of Beaver creek at the point about where the library is located ; when his cabin Avas completed on the 5th day of July, 1851, it was the first building of any kind erected in Sparta.
Passage source: History of Monroe County, Wisconsin, Past and Present : Including an Account of the Cities, Towns and Villages of the County [microform], published 1912.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Sparta City - 18,875 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Fires near this property
89 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 89 fires within 5 miles of Water Street Commercial Historic District between 1992 and 2020, burning about 191 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 24 |
| Debris and open burning | 21 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 20 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 1997 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 September 2013 | Smoking | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | ZIGGY FIRE |
| 17 August 2003 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 23 July 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | FERRIES FIRE |
| 12 July 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | HAZELWOOD FIRE |
| 10 July 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | MEDIAN 1 |
| 10 July 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | MEDIAN 2 |
Mines and quarries near this property
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Water Street Commercial Historic District: 1 producer. All of them still produce. 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linton Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this property
60 of 74 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sparta, the town this property stands in, in 74 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 37 thunderstorm wind, 25 hail, 6 flood, 4 lightning. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $200,000 | Emergency management reported several trees and power lines down in the city of Sparta. |
| June 2008 | Flood | Sparta | $200,000 | Ponding of water was reported just south of Sparta, about one mile south of Interstate 90. Across the county about 10 percent of the corn crop was damaged or destroyed. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Sparta | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $35,000 | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Lightning | Sparta | $30,000 | Lightning struck a garage just southwest of Sparta. The resulting fire destroyed the garage. The fire spread to a nearby house along a downed tree with the house suffering moderate fire and smoke damage. |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $25,000 | Numerous trees were blown down in Sparta and several of these landed on houses. Part of a roof was blown off and several power lines were also blown down. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $25,000 | Trees and a large business sign were blown down in Sparta. A business sustained roof damage when the winds blew the shingles off the building. Around 1,600 customers lost power from downed power lines. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $15,000 | A trained spotter reported a few outbuildings blown down which included a barn that had already sustained damage prior to storms moving through. |
| March 2007 | Lightning | Sparta | $15,000 | Lightning struck for the second time in Sparta, this time hitting the Land Conservation Building. Extensive damage occurred to the phone system, computers, printers and copiers. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $14,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $12,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $12,000 | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $10,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across mainly the northwest part of Monroe County. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $10,000 | Numerous trees were blown down on the south side of Sparta. The winds also blew soffit and siding off of some houses. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $10,000 | Power lines and tree limbs were blown down and the high winds created some roof damage to a few buildings in Sparta. Also, a tree was blown down on top of garage causing damage to the roof. |
| September 2000 | Hail | Sparta | $7,500 | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $5,000 | Trees were blown down in and just north of Sparta, which caused some power outages. |
| March 2007 | Lightning | Sparta | $5,000 | Lightning struck the roof of the Museum Complex Building in Sparta, which damaged some electrical equipment inside. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $3,000 | Door overhangs were damaged by winds in Sparta. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $2,000 | Several large trees were blown down in Sparta. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $2,000 | A tree was blown down onto a powerline in Sparta. |
| April 2015 | Lightning | Sparta | $2,000 | Lightning hit the Monroe County law enforcement building damaging some of the communication equipment inside the building. |
| September 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $2,000 | Wind gusts to around 45 mph knocked down several small trees on the north side of Sparta. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $1,500 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $1,500 | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $800 | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $800 | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $750 | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $750 | no account filed |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $600 | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $500 | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $500 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $500 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $500 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $500 | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $400 | no account filed |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $200 | Damage was reported to a rural street sign along Garden Avenue on the county line between Monroe and La Crosse Counties. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Sparta | - | The public reported quarter sized hail 1 mile north-northeast of Sparta. |
| June 2025 | Flood | Sparta | - | Repeated rounds of heavy rain during the month of June contributed to the La Crosse River at Sparta to rise into flood stage during the evening hours on June 26th, cresting in minor flood stage at a height of 8.99 ft the morning of June 27th. The river then fell below flood stage later that morning on June 27th. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | - | The public reported large tree branches down in Sparta. |
| August 2021 | Hail | Sparta | - | Quarter sized hail fell just south of Sparta. |
| May 2020 | Heavy Rain | Sparta | - | A total of 3.80 rain was reported from just south of Sparta. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Sparta | - | Runoff from rain and melting snow pushed the La Crosse River out of its banks in Sparta. The river crested around a half foot above the flood stage at 9.09 feet on March 14th. |
| August 2018 | Flood | Sparta | - | Runoff from heavy caused flooding to occur along the La Crosse River in Sparta. The river crested just over two feet above the flood stage at 10.71 feet. |
| July 2017 | Flood | Sparta | - | Runoff from heavy rains pushed the La Crosse River out of its banks in Sparta. The river crested almost four feet above the flood state at 12.26 feet. This was a crest of record for this site. |
| September 2016 | Flood | Sparta | - | Flood waters along the La Crosse River and Beaver Creek caused two city parks to be closed in Sparta along with some city streets. |
| June 2015 | Heavy Rain | Sparta | - | The automated weather observing equipment at the Sparta airport measured 2.8 inches of rain. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Sparta | - | Quarter sized hail fell just southwest of Sparta. |
| July 2014 | Hail | Sparta | - | Nickel to quarter sized hail fell in Sparta. |
| August 2012 | Hail | Sparta | - | Dime to quarter sized hail fell and was accompanied by wind gusts of 45 to 50 mph just south of Sparta along Interstate 90 at Exit 25 for State Highway 27. |
| May 2009 | Hail | Sparta | - | A storm spotter reported pea to dime size hail. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | - | An estimated wind gust of 60 mph was reported from the intersection of Interstate 90 and Highway 27. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Sparta | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Sparta | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Sparta | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Sparta | - | no account filed |
Map coverage status
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 milesOther National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta Free Library | under 500 feet | 1981 | |
 | Monroe County Courthouse | under 500 feet | 1982 |
| Sparta Masonic Temple | under 500 feet | 1987 | |
| Sparta High School | 0.2 miles | 2021 | |
 | William G. and Anne Williams House | 0.2 miles | 2005 |
 | St. John's Episcopal Church | 1.6 miles | 1983 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 92001554 in Record Group 79. |
| Monroe County | All 13 listed properties in this county. |
Provenance
- Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
- Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
- How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
- 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.
- 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.