Sparta’s Story Finds a New Canvas

For decades, the concrete wall beneath the White County Public Library sat mostly unnoticed along Bockman Way — a blank stretch of gray beneath the hill where the old Sparta Spoke Factory once stood. A few years ago, the Rotary Club helped soften the area by planting flowers across the hillside to combat erosion, but the wall itself remained untouched.

That is changing now.

Thanks to a partnership between the White County Library Foundation, the Sparta-White County Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Arts Commission, the once-barren concrete canvas is being transformed into a sweeping visual tribute to Sparta and White County history.

Stretching roughly 160 feet along Bockman Way near the Church Street intersection, the mural is being brought to life by local artist Tommy Narramore. The project blends the community’s past and present into one continuous piece of artwork, beginning with a rendition of the original Sparta Spoke Factory and ending with the library that now overlooks the hill above it.

Between those two points, Narramore is filling the wall with scenes and symbols that helped shape White County through generations.

There are nods to music legends like Lester Flatt, references to the county’s award-winning fair, depictions of local arts and craftsmanship, and reminders of industries and traditions that once defined everyday life here. Railroads, churches, factories, moonshine stills, pottery, quilting and live music all find a place within the mural, creating what amounts to a visual timeline of Sparta’s identity.

“Of course, I had to start with the Spoke Factory. That was an important place back when it stood up here,” Narramore said. “And we can’t forget Lester Flatt — or Jimi Hendrix. He stayed and played here for a couple of months back in the ’70s and that was a historical moment, we just didn’t know it then.”

Narramore said many of the ideas came from his own memories of growing up in Sparta, mixed with locations and landmarks that longtime residents would immediately recognize. He also made sure to include the county’s oldest church and the historic general store from the fairgrounds among the mural’s many scenes.

According to Cathy Farley, director at the White County Public Libary, the project has quietly been in motion for months.

“We have been working on this all winter,” Farley said. “We got the Historical Commission approval in late April, and now we are up and running with it. We have to show ‘significant progress’ by June 30.”

That timeline does not concern Narramore.

“I think this will take me about a month to complete,” he said while sketching portions of the mural onto the concrete wall.

Farley said the project received a $2,900 grant through the arts commission, though the total cost will exceed that amount. Rather than turning to taxpayers for additional funding, the Library Foundation is covering the remaining expenses to help bring the project to completion.

Once finished, the mural will offer more than just a splash of color downtown. It will serve as a street-level history lesson — one painted in scenes familiar to generations of White County residents and visible to anyone passing through Sparta.