Formed January 1, 1859 (87th county)
Alleghany County (10,886), Sparta (1,831)
White columns and red brick feature the 1933 Classical Revival facility. The courthouse is on Whitehead Street between Main and Alleghany streets. United States Highway 21 is Main Street in the town. Harry Barton designed the courthouse. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. A 1910 building was in Sparta earlier. A County Office Building was added in 1982 and an Administration Building in 2006. The county was established on January 1, 1859 from Ashe County as the 87th county with Sparta as the only county seat. The county is named for the Allegheny Mountains. Sparta is named for ancient Sparta, Greece.
Alleghany County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Twenty-one Superior Court Judges serve Alleghany, Alexander, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Iredell, Orange, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties, Three District Court Judges serve Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties and a court clerk serves Alleghany County (judicial.) The county is on the northwest border with Virginia. Greensboro, North Carolina is southeast and Asheville, North Carolina is southwest of the county. The county center is 1 mile South of Sparta. The county is surrounded clockwise by Virginia and Surry, Wilkes, and Ashe counties.
The area of the county is 236 square miles. It is 97 out of 100 in the state. It ranks 94 out of 100 in population in the state. It has a density of 46.1 persons per square mile making it 84 out of 100 in the state. Alleghany County has 16.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 21 enters the county from Virginia, north, and exits to Surry County, southeast. United States Highway 221 is joined with United States Highway 21 from Virginia, splits, and goes southwest into Ashe County. The county looks like a pile of leaves turned upside down. Sparta is in the northern third of the county. Sparta is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 16.8% of the county population.
Sparta
