This is Sparta

By Robin Roup

In the old cotton plantation country of central Georgia is a small, history-rich town called Sparta.

Sparta, the seat of Hancock County, is located roughly halfway between Macon and Augusta, and about 25 miles east of the old Georgia capital of Milledgeville.

Prior to the Civil War, Hancock County was one of the leading cotton producers in the South making it a wealthy area. By 1803, Sparta was one of only five towns in Georgia to have a newspaper and a subscription library.

Sparta continued to grow in the beginning of the 20th century with commercial banks, warehouses, cotton gins and a textile mill. With all this prosperity, several remarkable homes were built in the town during this era.

Following WWI the town’s prosperity ended. With most of its economy still relying on cotton, the coming of the boll weevil and the cotton crash hit the town hard. The county lost more than a third of its population, but later the town’s economy improved with the expanding timber industry. Today the town has about 1,500 residents.

There are an estimated 600 historic sites in Hancock County, reflecting the rich, Native-American, European and African-American history and culture of the area. A journey down Sparta’s streets provides a glimpse of the romantic past, recalling the days when cotton was king.

In Downtown Sparta you can explore the Sparta-Hancock Museum, which hosts exhibitions on local history, including an exhibit on the life of the county’s famous resident, Amanda America Dickson. Her life was portrayed in the Showtime Original Film, “A House Divided.” The museum also offers guided tours of Sparta’s historic district.

There are a variety of historic houses and buildings to see and visit including Glen Mary Plantation and the Shoulderbone Plantation. The Glen Mary Plantation is a Greek revival raised cottage featuring cranberry glass and antebellum columns. The Shoulderbone Plantation is available to see by appointment only, and it features original plantation outbuildings situated in an authentic antebellum setting. There is also the Hancock County Courthouse, which was built in the 1880s and features Victorian architecture. All three places are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ten miles from downtown Sparta is Courson’s Winery. Courson’s boasts 14 different types of traditional Southern wines and captures the taste of homemade wine with its lighter, fruitier, sweeter wines, making the kind of Southern table wine his great-grandfather once made.

Boating and a variety of recreational activities can be found at nearby Lake Sinclair. The 15,333-acre lake features 417 miles of scenic shoreline with charming coves and inlets as well as long stretches of open water.

It is said that the town got its name after one observer noted that frontiersmen involved in the Creek Indian Wars fought like ancient Spartans. Whether there’s any truth to that, we may never know. But one thing we do know is that Georgia’s town of Sparta is certainly rich in history, much like its namesake.