Sparta, Oregon was a thriving community in the late 1800s. It was named for Sparta, Illinois by Robert Packwood, an Oregon pioneer, in 1871. It had a general store, a hotel, a meat market, and a brewery. There were about 300 residents and over a thousand Chinese laborers working on the ditch system that irrigates Eagle Valley. It's called a ghost town, but I think even the ghosts left decades ago. The only things still there are the general store, which is a private residence now, and a ramshackle old stone home. You won't see anything that would indicate that there was a town on Sparta Road. It is worth the drive because it takes you over a nice ridge with 360 degree views of several mountain ranges.