Editing Sparta, New Jersey (section)

===Overview===
Sparta was originally inhabited by [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. In the 1750s, [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch explorers]] discovered red ores in the area and attempted to mine copper. No permanent settlers arrived until 1778, when Robert Ogden and his wife built their home and constructed an iron forge on lands he had acquired and "called their house and farm Sparta."<ref>Chambers, Theodore Frelinghuysen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zo9QAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA69 ''Proceedings of the centennial anniversary of the Presbyterian church at Sparta, N.J., November 23, 1886, together with a history of the village.''], p. 69. The Williams Company, 1887 (New York). Accessed October 8, 2015.</ref> The first public building in Sparta was the Presbyterian Church which was incorporated in 1786. Schools were established in [[Ogdensburg, New Jersey|Ogdensburg]] by 1806 and in Sparta by 1812.<ref>[http://www.spartanj.org/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=30&TPID=13259 About Sparta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206055516/http://www.spartanj.org/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=30&TPID=13259 |date=February 6, 2015 }}, Sparta Township. Accessed April 15, 2015.</ref>

[[Iron]], [[zinc]], and [[limestone]] supported a mining industry for over 100 years, but today the mining operations have ceased and the township is now a residential community served by retail, professional, and service small businesses. According to the 2000 census, 65% of Sparta workers commute to jobs outside of the county. {{citation needed|date=November 2016}}