The Bank of Sparta is located on the main thoroughfare of Broad Street in Sparta, Georgia. Despite applying for a charter fifteen years prior, the Bank of Sparta was approved to open as a bank in February 1904.

The bank was only for a few years. By April 1921, it was closed by state bank regulators when it was determined that the bank leaders were mishandling bank deposits. John D. Walker first served as the First National Bank of Sparta president. He then came to serve as the president of the Bank of Sparta. By 1921, he escaped to Texas to avoid prosecution for mishandling and the embezzling of bank funds. Depositors lost all of their money.

An interesting part of the sidewalk in front of the building is that there are still some vault lights. Vault lights were created to provide lighting in basements. The surface area is flat, but many of the vault lights would be angled to guide light into other basement areas.

While most of the glass appears clear, the glass can take on a purple hue. This (dis)coloration is caused by manganese dioxide, which will begin to change colors in response to sunlight. Silica was the main ingredient of the vault lights. Manganese dioxide was added to refine and set it.

So the next time you are walking in a historic downtown area, look down to see if you can locate any vault lights.