Randolph County ILGenWeb
Samuel Nesbit from SC first settled this township. He settled about 1 mile Est. of Eden in 1817. Also in 1817 James Huggins came to the township. James Baird came in 1819 about 3 miles south of Sparta. He was from SC via KY. In 1820 Alexander Alexander of Chester, SC came to the area. John McMillan settled on Flat Prairie in 1820. 1821 brought Ebenezer Alexander from Chester, SC and James Anderson from Pittsburgh, PA.
Sparta was first called Shannon's store. (See below) In 1826 John Armour from PA bought the land that is now Sparta and opened a mill there. Samuel Hill bought the first town lot for $4 in 1829. In 1829 James McClurken moved to town and Lawson Murphy opened a brickyard. 1830 the town added Alexander Campbell (carpenter), Cornhill Ballard (blacksmith), Dr. Pyles (teacher) and Dr. Joseph Farnan. William H McDill built a hotel in 1832. In 1834, John A Wilson, John Little, John Gray, Thomas Gaston and John W Slade made the new town their home. In 1837, the area was incorporated as the town of Columbus. James McClurken opened a steam gristmill, a sawmill and a cotton gin. He later added a caster oil mill. The Columbus Herald was est. by James Morrow in 1839. Later that same year he sold the paper to John E Detrich who changed the name to Sparta. The town was Sparta was chartered in 1858, John A. Wilson was the first Mayor.
Eden is a small hamlet just west of Sparta on Rt. 153. It was est. in 1822 by the Rev Samuel Wylie, along with Adam Wylie and James Ford. A church was est. there in 1833 before Rev Wylie used homes for his church. In 1837 town lots were sold. 1839 W R Brown opened a wagon shop here.
Shannon's Store was the beginnings of Sparta. Robert G Shannon opened a store in 1823, one mile south of present day Sparta. In 1827 he opened a Post Office in the store. As the town of Sparta grew the PO moved there. Mr. Shannon moved his store to Sparta in 1840.
Higgins’s Fort was located on Rt. 4 south of Sparta, about way to Rt. 150. This was probably a blockhouse.
Roseborough was located on the Cairo-St. Louis RR. It was possibly a flag stop or a station, but the location is unknown. It was thought to be about half way between Sparta and Percy. There was a William Roseborough that settled in the area as early as 1836.