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The Sprague family members have moved to widely
separated parts throughout the world. They there made their homes and there left
their marks on those communities. They became leaders in their communities and
as a result, their names became associated with the municipalities, businesses,
schools and physical features of those communities. This page of the Sprague website
attempts to provide the background for the various entities that carry the name
of Sprague and the Sprague derivative names such as Spragg, Spragge, Spriggs,
etc. Where possible, we provide a link to the individuals for which the entity
was named and a link to a map where location of the entity can be observed.
If you have a Sprague/Spragg/Sprig/etc. entity
you would like to submit, please click here
to submit information. Please note that we must have (1) a general
location of the entity, as well as (2) a history/description of it and (3) the
name of the person associated with it..
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Towns,
Villages,
& Cities |
Sprague,
New London Co.,
CT, USA |
Sprague is a town in New London County, in the Norwich-New
London metro area. The community was named after William
Sprague, who laid out the industrial section.
Once
upon a time, there was no town of Sprague in Connecticut. There was, however,
a governor in Rhode Island named William Sprague who came to Connecticut and founded
his own town.
Gov. Sprague was an industrious man, and in
the mid-1800s, he brought a major textile mill to Connecticut. Being the governor,
he couldn't simply build a mill in an existing town, he had to have a town named
after him. So, he got permission to take a piece of Lisbon and Franklin, in the
Shetucket River Valley, to create his own town of Sprague.
He
built a magnificent dam, which would provide the water power. Then he built a
majestic granite mill and a village around it. There was a church and a company
store. |
Spragueville,
Jackson, Co.,
IA, USA |
Spragueville was named after Lauren
Sprague.
With an ox team and wagon, Lauren
Sprague came to the area around Spragueville in the fall of 1838. He was born
in New Marlboro, Massachusetts on November 9, 1794. His wife, Lydia Blodgett,
was born in Brattleboro, Vermont on October 12, 1800, where they were married.
After moving to the state of New York, she died there in Aurora on January 28,
1833. From there Mr. Sprague and his daughters went to Illinois where they lived
three years before coming to Iowa.
By trade, Mr. Sprague
was a wagon and carriage maker In 1841, he filed a claim on a tract of land on
the west edge of Van Buren Township. There he built a dam and log grist mill on
Deep Creek, which became known as Sprague's Mill, and the town of Spragueville
was born. His home became the meeting place for settlers from around the area.
Spragueville is today a community of 116 residents. It is located
just west of Preston, Iowa. A canoe access for the Maquoketa River is located
north of the community. Agriculture is the primary industry and provides work
for the people. Today the community is interested in economic development and
commercial projects. The Jackson County Recreational Trail starts in Spragueville
and takes visitors for a woodsy 3.7 mile hike along the scenic Maquoketa River.
Rural, friendly, and strong best describes the community. Housing is a primary
interest. |
Spraguetown,
Washington Co.,
NY, USA |
Spraguetown, named after Col.
David Sprague, is a hamlet in Greenwich Township, Washington Co.,
NY. The following provides background to the naming of the community:
A
History of Greenwich, Washington Co., NY, by Edwin Neilson.
Washington County is 61 miles in length from north to south.
It is from 17 to 18 miles wide except in the northern part which is only 5 to
6 miles in width. It has an area of 843 square miles. In the very early days the
eastern tribe of the Iroquois used Greenwich as a hunting ground. It was called
Dense Forest. It is said that the first white man to live here was a man by the
name of Rogers (a desperado). He was here around 1763. Early settlers of the town
came about 1766 from Kingston, RI. Judge Nathan Tefft and his two sons settled
Middle Falls. Soon after there came a man called "Whispering _____"
because of his loud voice. He saw that the land was good. And a story is told
(tradition) that he went up on Bald Mountain, the highest peak in Washington Co.,
and called back to RI to Jonathan Foster,"Come on up, Captain, the land is
good." True or not, Mr. Foster came and settled on the MacMullan farm. Robert
Kenyon settled on the Gray farm. He returned to RI for money; upon returning he
found a man named Mosher had squatted on his claim. Many families came here from
RI during the Revolutionary War (1775-1776). David Sprague had 22 children. All
lived and settled on farms around him. Hence, we have the name Spraguetown. |
Spragge,
Algoma Co.,
Ontario,
Canada |
Spragge is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario,
located in the township of The North Shore in Algoma District. It was named after
John
Godfrey Spragge, Chief Justice of Ontario.
Although
the Spragge of today is a community of homes, some modest and others of the grand
style, the Spragge of yesterday lies in a meadow along the north shoreline of
Lake Huron. In its heyday, Spragge was a sawmill town located in what was one
of Ontario’s industrial heartlands. The town had its beginning in 1883 when
a large sawmill was erected at the mouth of the Serpent River. Today, foundations
and stone walls mark the site of the ghost town, Spragge, along the shoreline
where once stood two hotels
Originally known as Cook's Mills,
in 1882 the Cook Brothers Lumber Company established a sawmill at this location
on the north shore of Lake Huron. The mill operated until 1906 when it was sold
to Waldie Brothers Lumber Company. With the mill no longer in Cook's ownership,
Spragge (the original name of the township in which it is located), was adopted
as the name of the community. Waldie Brothers in turn sold the mill to McFadden
and Malloy in 1913.
|
Sprague,
Manitoba,
Canada
Daniel Emes Sprague
(Archives of Manitoba)
|
Spragge was named for John Godfrey Spragge,
Chief Justice of Ontario. At the time of his death, Spragge's accomplishments
as a lawyer and jurist were freely acknowledged. The law society summed up his
career by lauding his zeal, uprightness, learning, and ability and said that he
compared favourably with the greatest judges of any country. He was "the
last of the old regime."
Over time a small village with a school, hotel, barbershop,
general store was created, and by 1926 the community had a population of about
300 people. Sawmill activity was terminated in Spragge in the early 1930's following
a disastrous fire, which eliminated the mill, lumber inventory, docks and most
of the town. Sprague get its name from Daniel
Emes Sprague, an English gentleman who came to the area to make use
of the lumber reserves. Some time around 1885, Mr. Sprague formed the Sprague
Lumber Company. The company sent wood upriver by booms to Point Douglas where
a sawmill cut it into lumber for Winnipeg's booming housing construction. |
Streams,
Rivers,
Lakes,
& Parks |
.Sprague
Lake
Rocky Mountain
National Park,
near Estes Park,
Colorado
|
Sprague Lake is a shallow, 13-acre
lake is a remnant of a resort once owned here by Abner
Sprague, an expert guide and host. Just before Rocky Mountain National
Park was established in 1915, Sprague enlarged this lake by damming the far end
to create better fishing for his lodge guests.
Sprague and his wife, Alberta, operated their lodge -- formerly
located near today's parking lot -- from 1910-40. The Spragues introduced their
guests to the pleasures of high mountain waters, meadows and trails. You, too,
can refresh yourself by fishing, picnicking or hiking in this mountain setting.
The 1/2-mile nature trail around the lake is handicap accessible.
From Rocky
Mountain National Park |
| Schools |
Laura B. Sprague |
This elementary school in Lincolnshire, Illinois
is named after Laura
B. Sprague. Lincolnshire, incorporated in 1957, contains the old
village of Half Day.
In August, 1836, the first post office
in the county was established at Indian Creek and the village was renamed Half
Day for an Indian chief called Hafta, whose village was near the mouth of Indian
Creek. In the same year, Laura B. Sprague opened the first school in her father's
log cabin at Half Day.
The school was supported by the parents
of the children in attendance. The area was growing in population, and by 1855
Half Day became a thriving community. Half Day contained all things necessary
for life at that time: a blacksmith shop, saw mill, country store, and a church. |
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Copyright © 2010; Richard E. (Dick) Weber / The
Sprague Project
This page was created on October 9, 2008
Most recent revision |
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29
July 2010
