North Carolina Forest Service Alleghany County Headquarters

About forestry service, 24829, Eckman, WV, US, North Carolina

Sparta is a town and the county seat of Alleghany County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,834. == History == James H. Parks, an early businessman whose store stood near the present location of the ABC store, was one of three men who donated land for the county seat in 1866. Parks is credited with suggesting the name "Sparta", after the Greek city-state. Noteworthy businesses established in Sparta included The Alleghany News (1889), the Bank of Sparta (1902), and the second store purchased by home improvement giant Lowe's (1949). Sparta's first shopping center, Trojan Village, opened in 1977, followed by Sparta Plaza in 1986. The Alleghany County Courthouse and Jarvis House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On August 9, 2020, the town was the epicenter of a moderate earthquake that was felt as far as Georgia. The earthquake, which registered as a 5.1 on the Richter magnitude scale, was the largest earthquake to occur in North Carolina in over 100 years. == Geography == According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), of which 0.0077 square miles (0.02 km2), or 0.32%, is water.