125-year-old house will be torn down on North Main Street

A house over a century old is being torn down in Sparta.

The structure at 115 N. Main St., which was built in 1900, has recently been put up for demolition. According to Tennessee Property Assessment Data, the house was 2,384 square feet and had a total market appraisal at $75,100.

Despite being an old house, or maybe because of it, the house had remained vacant for many years. Some of the residents of the neighborhood said the last they could remember somebody living there may have been up to two decades years ago. One woman also mentioned that, sometimes homeless squatters have been seen around the house and that the house did not seem safe anymore. Another individual agreed that they have been seen hanging out around the front at times, but he had never seen someone actually living in the house illegally.

The demolition team on the ground said the building was just not safe anymore, and both the city and homeowners felt it was time to go. One of the men working on site said, “Sadly, it’s a piece of history that just has to go away.”

The process has just begun, so the team said it will be a few weeks before it is gone for good. There are no further details at this time on what the homeowners intend to do with the property after the house is demolished.