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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Sparta (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Sparta. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Sparta ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

In past government published Postal Guides, Sparta was referred to as Sparta Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sparta. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sparta.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Sparta is located in Monroe County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Monroe County: Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse & Vernon.

Below are the counties that are near Sparta. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sparta:

  • Monroe County     (The home county of Sparta)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparta, with the one closest to Sparta listed first.
    • Angelo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Melvina
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Norwalk
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Tunnel City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
    • Cashton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Cashton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
    • Tomah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Tomah is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people
    • Wilton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wilton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Oil City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Oil City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Warrens
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Warrens is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Oakdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Valley Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Wyeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Wyeville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Clifton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Crawford County
    • Lynxville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lynxville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynxville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
  • Jackson County
  • Juneau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparta, with the one closest to Sparta listed first.
    • Camp Douglas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Hustler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Mather
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Elroy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Elroy is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
  • La Crosse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparta, with the one closest to Sparta listed first.
    • Rockland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bangor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bangor is located in La Crosse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
    • Middle Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • West Salem
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Saint Joseph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mindoro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Barre Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Shelby
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Shelby is located in La Crosse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
    • Grand Crossing
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Onalaska
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Holmen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Holmen is located in La Crosse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,368 people
    • Midway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • North La Crosse
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
  • Richland County
    • Viola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Trempealeau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparta, with the one closest to Sparta listed first.
    • Ettrick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ettrick is located in Trempealeau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ettrick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
    • Frenchville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Galesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Vernon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sparta, with the one closest to Sparta listed first.
    • Newry
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ontario
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Ontario is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
    • Westby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Coon Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Tabor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Chaseburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • La Farge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Viroqua
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Viroqua is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
    • Trippville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Newton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • White City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • White City is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Stoddard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Liberty
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Liberty is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
  • Houston County (MN)
  • Winona County (MN)
    • Dakota
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Dakota is located in Winona County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sparta, see our County-by-County Page for Sparta.

Cemeteries Near Sparta ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sparta.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Sparta - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sparta covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sparta, with the one closest to Sparta listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sparta had a population of 2,795 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Sparta had a population of 9,800 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Sparta, with the one closest to Sparta listed first.

  • Angelo
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Leon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Leon is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
  • Rockland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Burns
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Burns is located in La Crosse County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
  • Melvina
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Cataract
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cataract is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataract
  • Middle Ridge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Marys
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Marys is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
  • Norwalk
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • West Salem
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Cashton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Cashton is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
  • Tunnel City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Burr Oak
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Burr Oak is located in La Crosse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
    • Saint Joseph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tomah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Tomah is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sparta. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sparta.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sparta ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 175 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sparta.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sparta. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sparta and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sparta.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Sparta.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Sparta:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sparta) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Sparta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.