History

The village of Sparta began in 1813 when Jonathan Doan, a Quaker, traveled down Lake Erie by flat bottomed barge to Kettle Creek seeking a safer place for a Quaker settlement. He had fled the United States after the American Revolution and settled in the Niagara region. When attacks began in the Niagara Region during 1812, he feared losing his property again. He purchased 100 acres at what is now the present site of the Quaker Cemetery and stayed the winter. He was accompanied by his nine year old grandson, Jonathan Steele. The following spring he returned to the Niagara Region and encouraged other Quakers to move to the Sparta area. He and his family set up a grist mill, a saw mill and a tannery in the community as well as giving land for the Quaker Cemetery and the first Meeting House. Many other Quakers followed and by 1820 others were also attracted to this rich farming area.

In 1837, the community became involved in the Rebellion of 1837 and many fled to the United States of America after the aborted attack in the Duncombe Uprising. Joshua Doan, son of Jonathan was one of these rebels and was captured at the attack on Windsor in 1838 and hanged for treason in London in 1839. Most of the others gradually returned from the USA and took up their lives in the area once more.

The community grew and prospered so that by the 1870's it was a thriving village with close to 1500 residents. When the American railways went through St. Thomas, Sparta shrank and St. Thomas grew. The village has remained a small settlement with many of its early buildings still standing and used for shops and homes.

 In 2013 we turned 200. Visit us in Sparta and enjoy our rich history.