Sparks is an unincorporated community that is located in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States.

The popular North Central Railroad ("NCR") Hike-Bike Trail runs through Sparks along the basin of the Gunpowder Falls (a.k.a.

The town's ZIP Code is 21152 and it is frequently accessed at Exit 24, Belfast Road, along Interstate 83, a Highway that runs from Baltimore to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Abraham Lincoln's body was carried through Sparks on the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad from Washington, D.C., on its way to burial in Illinois following his assassination in 1865.

In 1888, the area had grown to a point where "a substantial foot bridge 6 feet in width" had to be built across the Gunpowder River.

Beginning in 1889, a combination passenger and freight station was operated by the Northern Central Railway (NCR) along the right-of-way and line that had previously been known as the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad.

Railroad operations through Sparks ceased in 1972, as a direct result of major damage to the tracks and rail bed that occurred during flooding that followed Hurricane Agnes.

Local television station crews (including Baltimore's WJZ-13 affiliate) were at the scene as the event unfolded.

Both the bank and the post office have since been moved back to York Road, which now serves as the main area of local business.

The original Sparks Bank building still stands and is now operated as a Nature Center for young children by volunteers of Gunpowder Falls State Park in conjunction with the NCR Hike and Bike Trail, which follows the old railroad path through northern Baltimore County.