Sparta, Wisconsin

Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. The population was 10,025 at the 2020 census.

Sparta is located on Ho-Chunk territory ceded in 1837. White settlement began after the government surveyed the land in 1849 and created a crossroads by building early state roads from Prairie du Chien to Hudson in 1849 and from Portage to La Crosse in 1851. The first recorded settlers were brothers Frank and William Petit, who opened a tavern near the crossroads in 1851. Their mother, recorded only as Mrs. Petit, named the settlement after the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. A post office has been in operation at Sparta since 1852.

In 1854, the Wisconsin Legislature named Sparta the county seat for the newly organized Monroe County. The settlement grew with the arrival of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad in 1858 and the Chicago and North Western Railroad in 1873. The La Crosse River and area creeks provided water power for early sawmills and gristmills, and the town attracted a variety of small manufacturers in the late nineteenth century. Residents also promoted Sparta as a health resort after drilling artesian wells for mineral water in the 1860s. The current Monroe County Courthouse was built in Sparta in 1895, replacing an 1863 structure.

The United States Army began to acquire land for training grounds near Sparta in 1905 and 1909. The training camp developed into Fort McCoy, named for Sparta resident Robert Bruce McCoy, and became a significant contributor to the city's economy.

In 1967, the former route of the Chicago and North Western Railroad into Sparta was converted into the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, considered the nation's first rail trail conversion.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.06 square miles (20.88 km²), of which 8.01 square miles (20.75 km²) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km²) is water.

Sparta's location in the United States' upper midwest gives the area a temperate, continental climate. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average high temperature of 85 °F (29 °C), with overnight low temperatures averaging 63 °F (18 °C). January is the coldest month, with high temperatures averaging 26 °F (−4 °C), with the overnight low temperatures around 6 °F (−14 °C).

As of the census of 2020, the population was 10,025. The population density was 1,252.0 inhabitants per square mile (483.4/km²). There were 4,388 housing units at an average density of 548.0 per square mile (211.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.5% White, 1.4% Black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.9% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 7.8% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 11.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race.