Crime Scene and Trauma Cleanup in Sparta, WI

Sparta is the county seat of Monroe County, Wisconsin, located along the La Crosse River, with a population of 10,025 at the 2020 census.

Sparta's first recorded settlers were brothers Frank and William Petit, who opened a tavern at a crossroads of early state roads in 1851, and their mother named the settlement after the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta.

The Wisconsin Legislature named Sparta the county seat of the newly organized Monroe County in 1854, and the current Monroe County Courthouse was built in 1895.

Sparta was incorporated as a city in 1883.

Sparta calls itself the 'Bicycling Capital of America' because it sits at one end of the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, a 32-mile trail opened in 1967 that is considered the first rail-trail conversion in the United States.

Visitors entering Sparta are greeted by Ben Bikin', a 32-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture of a man on a penny-farthing bicycle billed as the 'World's Largest Bicyclist.'

The Elroy-Sparta State Trail passes through three hand-dug railroad tunnels, and the 22-mile La Crosse River State Trail gives Sparta over 50 miles of connected trail riding.

Sparta's bike trails draw more than 60,000 visitors a year to the city.

The U.S. Army began acquiring training land near Sparta in 1905 and 1909, and the post that grew there — Fort McCoy, named for Sparta resident Robert Bruce McCoy — became a major contributor to the city's economy.

Artesian mineral waters discovered in Sparta in 1859 were promoted for their supposed healing powers, earning the city the nickname 'Saratoga of the West.'