Starkey is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in southern Roanoke County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. The community lies south of U.S. 221 near the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

. This is the location of the

Starkey School Starkey School is a historic school building located at Starkey, Roanoke County, Virginia. It was built about 1915, and is thought to incorporate an earlier one-room school built about 1894. It is a brick school building flanked by wings built in ...

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Starkey takes its name from the land owned by Tazewell M. Starkey. "The Starkey community took its name from the Starkey family, who, along with the Harveys, Sloans and Fowlers, were among the first settlers. The village incorporated land once owned by Tazewell Starkey. In the days when Roanoke's roads were rough and muddy, Starkey was an important shipping point for apples, barrels and barrel staves, which were sent in great quantities to

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

." The village had no name until the Roanoke and Southern Railroad connected with the

Norfolk and Western Railroad The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

in the early 1890s, when a railroad station was established and named for Tazewell Starkey, who gave the land for a railroad right of way. The Shenandoah Packing company was established here in 1908, and canned 11,000 cans per season of apples, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and beans. Later a Post Office was erected there, but was named "Farland" because another post office in nearby

Floyd County, Virginia Floyd County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,476. Its county seat is the town of Floyd. Floyd County is included in the Blacksburg- Christiansburg, VA Metropolitan Statistical ...

, also had the name "Starkey. When that name was discontinued, the name Starkey was given to this site in order to conform to the railroad station name. This was an important railroad transportation center for local farmers from Back Creek, Virginia,

Cave Spring, Virginia Cave Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 26,755 at the 2020 census. Cave Spring covers much of the area known locally as "Southwest County" which has the most affluent suburbs ...

and

Bent Mountain, Virginia Bent Mountain is an unincorporated community in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. Bent Mountain is located on U.S. Route 221 southwest of Roanoke. Bent Mountain has a post office with ZIP code 24059. Geography At over 2,600 feet in ele ...

. Today the community is no longer distinct.Kagey, Deedie Dent. When Past Is Prologue: A History of Roanoke County. Roanoke, Va: Roanoke County Sesquicentennial Committee, 1988. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19279340 Pages 310-311.

References

Unincorporated communities in Roanoke County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{RoanokeCountyVA-geo-stub