Sparta: 1800 to Owen County

I have been in the town of Sparta for the last sixty years, have tried to be a good citizen, and one you would not be ashamed of.

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:14.

This was written by C. N. Varble, who was born March 22, 1896, came to Sparta, April 1, 1917. Have been in this building in the general store business since January 1, 1933. Married Fanny J. Wilson, 1920, have one daughter, 4 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

It was in the fall of 1799 that a group of men, women and children got together at a place called “Holsten’s Valley, Virginia, and started west. Led by a Mr. John Carlock, a younger brother, William Swango, Jacob Walters, Sr., and John and David Alcorn. Winter overtook them and they spent the winter of 1799 and 1800 in “Burning Springs” in eastern Kentucky near the present town of Prestonsburg in Floyd County. It was late spring or early summer when the party arrived in the valley near the fork of Two Mile Creek and Eagle Creek.

It was a valley surrounded by high hills on both sides, and a long strip of bottom land along Eagle Creek. Good hunting, fresh water, and y this time the Indians had all been driven across the Ohio River.

The first thing to do was to build some houses. The first house was of course a log house built where now stands what is known as the Allen Brock home, but, going back, it was our first tavern and hotel.

At this time Sparta was on the south side of Eagle Creek, but it was still in Gallatin County. John Carlock started to farm. Their crop was cotton, hemp, and I would think they had some corn and wheat, for bread. The cotton did not make it, but the hemp is still growing along the creek banks. We have been able to account for about 20 log homes that were built in the early years in the town of Sparta.

In 1804 the early settlers had built, besides their houses, a grit mill, a tan yard, distillery, machine shop, shoemaker shop, and several coopers. As time passed ore settlers came. The grist mill at Sparta was the oldest one along Eagle Creek, and I have been told that there were more grist mills along Eagle Creek than any other stream in the state of Kentucky. It was built by William Garnett and Dave Ross, and called the Ross Mill. In 1806 there was a store house run by a Mr. Enoch Winkfield. At this time we had no churches or schools except a building up at the branch of News Branch and Two Mile, called “Little Hope,” which was used for a school and a church. Some people said it was a Baptist Church.

Aunt Onie Brock Green went to school in this building, and her teacher was a Miss Tomlinson, who later married a Mr. Will Lindsey, who was a lawyer in Owenton. Aunt Onie lived to be 103 when she passed away, and she was born in 1865. She was born in the town of Sparta, on the south side of Eagle Creek. Her grandfather came here in 1811. His name was Henry Brock and his wife was Saaara Balding Brock. They crossed Eagle at what was called “Green’s Ford.” It was at the mouth of Two Mile. He came up on the north side of eagle, went back from the creek about a half a mile, cleared a plot of land, and built him a fine two story log home, close to real good spring water – cold running water, right out of the bank. So after the house was built he built a large barn for his stock and feed, for the winter.

Each fall, before hog killing, he would send one of his boys to Stamping Ground, for salt, to cure the meat and to last them for the year. This was a three to four day trip, if everything went well. They would stay all night at what was called “Hill’s Stand.” It is said that this place was not too safe a place to stay, especially if you had money on you. There had been several people stop there who were not seen again.

There was a big sinkhole in back of Brock’s building. Mr. Brock always kept a keg of whiskey, and one day he went to the barn to get a drink, and the keg was empty. He had several boys, and thinking they had been drinking too heavy, began tl get rough with them. But in a few days the spring began to run water flavored with whiskey. After making closer examination, he found that the hoops on the keg had broken and spilled all that was in the keg. The whiskey ran into the ground and struck the vein of water to the spring. So Brock had to dig a well, in back of the house, and they are still using water from this well today. After 150 years, there is a cup hanging on the side of the pump. It is one of the best water wells in Sparta, and has never been known to go dry. The log house burnt in January 24, 1943. Mr. Jess Shelly with his four girls and one boy lived there. Their mother had died about 1920, and Mr. Shelly was raising the children the best he could.

Henry Brock lived in this house until they died, and was buried just a short piece from the house on a little knoll over looking Ellis Branch. We looked for their markers, and found Mrs. Brock. She died and was buried January 28, 1858, but Mr. Brock’s marker was never found. The creek gets over this piece of ground, so it could have been covered with mud.

After 16 years, the new settlers on the south side of Eagle Creek lost their land, through no fault of their own, but through the way their land claims had been filed. In addition to John Carlock, other early settlers who lost their land were William Snodgrass, George Jackson, William Holbert, William Swango, Sr., and Joel Alcorn. There were many others whose names are not recorded. Some went to Missouri, others moved to the northwest, and some stayed.

There were large syndicates that purchased large tracts of land in Gallatin County. They were May Bannister & Company, The Crosley Company, and J. Fellows & Company. These firms bought up land in 25,000 acre plots and then sold it to people who wanted a farm for a homestead. As an example, Mr. John Gayle bought 2,000 acres of land in the New Liberty area from a federal land grant at $1.25 per acre. He came from Virginia and brought with him a large bunch of hound dogs and slaves. Much of the Black population of New Liberty today is descended from these slaves. In Gallatin County, in an area known as Park Ridge, the Black’s had their own school and still have their church. Many of them are descendents of slaves who were brought here by Horatio Turpin, who is believed to be the first settler in Gallatin County, and was a first cousin to Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the USA. He bought 4,000 acres, brought his slaves from Virginia, cleared the land, and then went back and got his family. He has his family graveyard here, with a rock wall 2 feet wide and 5 feet tall around it. The farm was on what is today known as the Boone Road.

From about 1820 to 1850 we do not have much record. Little is known other than settlers came in to Sparta. By this time we had Owenton, New Liberty and all the town’s as you go toward Georgetown. Traffic was getting heavy, so someone built a bridge across Eagle Creek in 1851. We had very heavy traffic and a light bridge, so it did not stand too long. (In 1923 I talked to a man that drove a team of oxen and hauled freight from Warsaw to Owenton. This was a three-day trip, and for Oxen, that was good traveling.) After the bridge fell, you went back to the old “Green Ford,” which was at the mouth of Two Mile. When the creek was low, you drove across, or rode a horse, but when it was high, they had a ferry that you used to cross on. (I was down to the mouth of Two Mile the other day, the first time I was ever there. Now, you could not get across there. The creek has washed the ground so that the banks are straight up and down some 15 to 20 feet. Of course, 150 years would make some difference.)

At this time we had no schools or churches, no railroad, no electric, no telephone. No noise of any kind except the wild life in the woods. It was long about 1850 that the Samuels came to Sparta by way of Versailles, to New Liberty, and on down the hill to Sparta. They ought a farm known today as the Robert Darcy [sp?] farm. Mr. Darcy has been here about 14 years, but they had owned the farm for about 24 years. In 1850 the farm sold for $2,000. In 1951 the farm brought $35,000. In 1967, there was a new road from I-71 to Owenton and this road went through the back side of the farm, which gave Mrs. Darcy $5,000. She then sold the part that was on the east side of Ky. 35 for $30,000, and the rest of the farm on the west side of Ky 35 for $40,000.

When the Samuels owned this farm there was no house on it. The Samuels’ lived down the road toward the creek, in the bend of the road. Today there is a row of maple trees there, all there is to show where the houses did stand. There were three log houses that set back from the road a bit. There was also a store building that was right on the road, where the Samuels’ ran a store. In back of these house was a large apple orchard, and years later Bill Davis’ wife hung herself in one of these apple trees, leaving a husband and three children, two boys and a girl.

We still did not have a church or school. We did have a tavern, and that building is still standing. It was built where the first log house was built in 1800. A man named Burk ran the tavern and the hotel combined.

About 1863 things began to look much better. They tried to put the railroad through Warsaw, but they failed to get the right-of-way, so they said they would build the railroad from Worthville through Eagle Station, Sanders, Sparta, Glencoe, and then straight to Covington. And that is what they did. Cox and company already had a transfer line from Warsaw to Owenton, and stagecoach line. Their depot was where our bank now stands. Buildings were beginning to go up on the north side of Eagle Creek: a hotel, dwelling, store building, depot, and, on April 18, 1869, trains started their regular run. This took a lot of hard work, and some money. The cost from LaGrange to Latonia was $3,933,401.00. The longest bridge was 647 feet long over the Kentucky River, the highest was a trestle over Bank Lick Creek, 105 feet tall. There were seven tunnels and the grade was 60 feet to the mile. In 1870 there was a man named George A. Wagel who came to Sparta to build a bridge across Eagle Creek, of all wood, which he did and it stood until 1928 when it burnt. It was replaced with steel, but used the same pillars. This bridge was in use about 100 years.

Now the first building on this side of Eagle Creek in Sparta as it is known today was the Depot, which was run by Florian and Atilla Cox. It housed the post office, store, freight, and ticket office. Letch Alsop was the agent and operator. In June of 1867, the next building was a hotel. We knew it as the Kell Hotel, and it burned in 1942. Parnell and Wilhoite were the builders. The railroad finished and regular trains were first scheduled for April 18, 1869.

Miss Rea Gano said her Father rode the first train that ran, on a flat car. Then, they had wood burning engines, and would make stops along the track for wood. They had one top for wood at John Robinson’s, and another at Lost Branch. (Where did Lost Branch get it’s name? It is said a small boy went up this branch looking for the cow to bring home, and milk, but the boy never returned. He is supposed to have been taken by Indians.)

There is now a hole of water just above the whirl pool, called the Baker Hole. It was sometime in the early 1900. Carvin Baker Nephue [Baker’s nephew?] was drowned in this place. Sparta had a water tank where the trains could take water, and nearly every train had to take on more water at Sparta. There were four stops for water between LeGrange and Latonia. This was a busy place, as all freight, mail, express and passengers to Warsaw and Owenton would go through this place. We still at this time had no schools or churches. No Bridge. Cox and Company took care of the depot, hauling the freight, and the mail. The bus station was where the Resturn [restaurant?] stands now. Dr. Bond’s home stood where the old hardware store was, where there is a tavern now. Dr. Lindsey lived where the Sparta Bank now stands. He had a large, two story house painted white. There was a large two story house that stood here where the store now is. It was painted yellow, faced up the hill, and had a real high back porch. Aunt Onie Green said the first dead person she ever saw was in this house. He was killed on the railroad; I think she said at bridge 19.

Now we have a school lot but it wasn’t until about 1875 that we got the building up and ready for school. The ground where the school was built was given by Mr. And Mrs. A. D. Mason; about an acre of ground. They built the school on the back side of the lot, which was the highest spot on the ground. There were no shade trees, so the Samuel boys set 6 maple trees, three on each side of the walkway from the road to the school building, about a fifty foot walkway. Now this was in 1875 that the boys set the trees, and in 1975, the trees were beginning to rot, and a large limb fell off, so the Baptist church, now the owners of the lot, decided to cut them down. The great-grandson of one of the boys who helped set them, helped to remove the old trees.

Here are some of the pupils who did go to this school before it was town down in 1908, and a large two-story brick building put in its place:

Teachers: Mr. P. h. Welch, the father of Jack Welch of Owenton; Miss Rosie Wood; and Cracine [?] and W. A. Gano, this was Rea Gano’s father.

Students: Birtha McCune, Jessie McCune, May Samuel, Joe Samuel, John Samuel, John, Fred, Bess, J.C., Hazel Grant, Iona Corbett, Leslie minor, Charley Gardner, Sue and Mary Turley, Maud Samuel, and lots more that I do not remember. This building was in use for 34 years.

This information was sent to me by one of the first children to go to this school. It was Mrs. Ona Brock Green. She was born in “old Sparta,” as it is known today, December 2, 1867, and she remembered when this schoolhouse was built. She was laid to rest on July 16, 1971, at Owenton. The school building was a long, two-story building with a stage at one end. The seats were made from logs cut of the iland [?], they were real long. What about your books? She said that you took whatever book you had, there were no grades, like we have today. Each seat had a number. The larger people sat on the out side and the little ones sat in the middle. Sometimes we would crawl under the seats to visit some other children up front of in the back of us. The upstairs was used for a Lodge. The downstairs was used for churches, shows, and a community hall. It was known as the “old red school house.”

Now in 1969 the railroad was finished. In 1873, Mr. W. A. Wagel built the bridge, and in 1875, the school opened, and in that same year, the Christian church was started by Rev. John T. Hawkins from New Liberty, where he was pastor. It was not until 1890 that the first church building was put up at a cost of $2,500. It was built by Grant Samuel’s father, near the end of the new bridge, in what is Owen County. The Sparta Baptist Church was organized with 70 members on august 30, 1881, in the old red school house. It joined the Concord Association, and later became a member of the Owen County Association.

It was in 1900 that we got our bank, which has been a great help to the community. In 1933 they took over the Sanders Bank as a branch. At this time we had two hotels and several stores. In 1908 we had a lumber yard started by Mr. Joe Wilson from Boone county. In 1909, Mr. J. F. Donalson, from London, England, came to Warsaw, and started a nursery there, and one at Sparta.

We got electric light in 1920, with our own power plant, but we soon sold out to the Kentucky Utilities people. Now we have streetlights. In he 1915-1920 era, we were called the Flash Light Town, for everyone carried a flash light, and about all met the passenger trains, of which we had several.

[I wasn’t sure, so I checked this one, and sure enough, flashlights were invented in the 1880’s. The batteries weren’t very good, and they didn’t last very long, so people didn’t turn them on and leave them on. Instead they turned them on and off; they just had them on long enough to get a feel for what they were seeing and turned them right off again, to save power. Hence the name, “flash” light. Google knows everything!]

In 1921 we had the Standard Oil Company put a distributing plant in Sparta. In 1923, Mr. Frank Jacobs started the coal yard and transfer company. In 1928, we had a large stock pen built and it did real good for a while. We had two of the best stock buyers in the country, Mr. Harry carver, and Mr. Walter Kennedy. We also have a used car lot run by Mr. J. M. Crume, one of the best in the country. You were asking about Mr. Ross…I have asked around and find that in the early 1900 we had a Mr. Ross who ran a blacksmith shop in old Sparta, and we had a Mr. Ross who helped build our grist mill in the early 1800’s. But Sparta is not like it used to be. We have lost all of our mail, passenger, express, stock yard, lumber yard, and Standard Oil moved out this year.

Our town is not what it used to be. They took our school, and where the depot used to work 7 men, 7 days a week, it now works one man, 5 half-days a week. We have no trains that stop at Sparta. Of course, all passenger trains have been taken off; nothing but freight trains run this railroad now.

I have tried to give you sketch of what Sparta was like, in brief. My typing is not too good, but maybe you will get the idea of what Sparta was at one time. In 1965, I-71 was built through from Walton to Louisville. Through Gallatin County it followed the old Boone Trail most of the way, and Owen County was promised to get a good road to I-71. It started in 1967 and opened in 1970, which gave the town of Sparta a new bridge, and a new road through town, which helped some and harmed others.

Thanks,

C. N. Varble
Sparta, Ky 41086