Sparta, Illinois
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Sparta is a city in Randolph County,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The population was 4,095 at the 2020 census. The city was the principal filming location for the 1967 film '' In the Heat of the Night''.


Geography

Sparta is located at (38.1282, −89.7061). According to the 2010 census, Sparta has a total area of , of which (or 97.61%) is land and (or 2.39%) is water.


Printing industry

After World War II, Sparta became known as "Magazineland, U.S.A." due to the presence of numerous printing plants that produced most of the mass-market color
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s in the United States. Spartan Printing employed as many as 1,000 people at its peak. Later, major comics distributors situated their warehouses in and around Sparta. Sparta was featured in the 16th episode of the ''Small Town News Podcast'', an
improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...
podcast that takes listeners on a fun and silly virtual trip to a small town in America each week, in which the hosts improvise scenes inspired by local newspaper stories.


World shooting and recreational complex

In 2005, the expansion of the
Dayton International Airport Dayton International Airport (officially James M. Cox Dayton International Airport, formerly Dayton Municipal Airport and James M. Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport) is 10 miles north of downtown Dayton, in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. T ...
forced the
Amateur Trapshooting Association The Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) serves as the governing body for the sport of American style of trapshooting. The ATA was founded in 1900 and as the American Trapshooting Association. Its first president was John Philip Sousa. See a ...
(ATA) to relocate from its previous headquarters in
Vandalia, Ohio Vandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 15,209 during the 2020 census. In addition to being the city closest to Dayton International Airport, Vandalia lies at the crossroads of I ...
. The association chose to move to the vicinity of Sparta, following extensive lobbying by the city and the state. In 2006, then-Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...
and local dignitaries opened th
World Shooting and Recreational Complex
north of Sparta. The ATA hosted its first Grand American at the facility in August, with several thousand shooters attending. In 2012 the ATA moved their national headquarters to 1105 East Broadway, Sparta, Illinois. All day-to-day operations for the Association are now handled at this location.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 4,486 people, 1,783 households, and 1,164 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,014 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.39%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 15.65%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.36%
Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...
, 0.51% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population. There were 1,783 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males The median income for a household in the city was $34,139, and the median income for a family was $41,908. Males had a median income of $30,386 versus $19,819 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $16,343. About 10.9% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 27.3% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

*
Earle Gardner Earle McClurkin Gardner (January 24, 1884 – March 2, 1943) was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Highlanders from 1908 to 1912. Career Gardner played for the Springfield ...
, infielder for the
New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...
*
Darius Jackson Darius Jackson (born December 1, 1993) is an American former professional football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Veg ...
, running back for the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
* John Wittenborn, kicker for
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
,
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
, and
Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...


References


External links


City websiteRandolph County Herald TribuneWorld Shooting and Recreational Complex
{{authority control Cities in Randolph County, Illinois Cities in Illinois