The information presented below is from the book entitled “Sparta, NJ Head of the Wallkill – A History of Sparta in Images and Words” by William R. Truran, Trupower Press (c)2005, ISBN 0-9764931-0-1. This book is currently in print and available on-line and local book stores.
Before the town of Sparta was named, the area was called “The Head of the Wallkill” a river which flows north to Franklin, NJ. Sparta was named by Phoebe Ogden on February 13, 1845. The town is located on the main route from Newton (the County seat of Sussex) to Morristown along the Union Turnpike. In the late 1800′s and early 1900′s Sparta was a destination for summer vacationers. First they arrived by train, then by automobile. Sparta has sections such as Monroe, Lake Grinnell, Lake Mohawk, Hopewell, Edison, Lake Saginaw, Seneca Lake and others. Until 1914, Ogdensburg was a section as well. An interesting fact: the Sparta Female Seminary was built in 1839 which provided the rare service of educating young women.
Lake Mohawk was a well-planned development in the 1920′s. A man-made lake, it is one of the largest lakes in New Jersey. Johnny Weismuller of Olympic swimming and Tarzan movie fame was on-hand at the opening. The Lake’s founder, Herbert Closs (1898 – 1996) started at age 14 as a carpenter and grew his business by buying and fixing homes in Newark. He then moved west and north into Morris and Sussex counties. Arthur D. Crane (1877 – 1945) was co-founder of Lake Mohawk with Closs. Crane also started working at age 14. The Closs-Crane team along with others envisioned the Lake and in typical American fashion made their dream a reality with persistence, determination and skill.
Useful Links:
Lake Mohawk Country Club http://lakemohawkcountryclub.com/
The Sparta Township web site is http://www.spartanj.net/
The municipal web site is http://www.spartanj.org/
The Public School site is http://www.sparta.org/
Also check out http://www.mysparta.com/
Local Newspaper review http://strausnews.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=39183221&event=1373946&CategoryID=47379