Starkville, Mississippi
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Starkville is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in, and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of,
Oktibbeha County Oktibbeha County is a county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census the population was 51,788. The county seat is Starkville. The county's name is derived from a local Native American word meanin ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...
is a
land-grant institution A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Signed by Abraha ...
and is located partially in Starkville but primarily in an adjacent
unincorporated area 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 ...
designated by the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
as
Mississippi State, Mississippi Mississippi State, Mississippi is a census-designated place in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. It is the official designated name for the area encompassing Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture ...
. The population was 25,653 in 2019. Starkville is the most populous city of the
Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
region of Mississippi. The Starkville micropolitan statistical area includes all of Oktibbeha County. The growth and development of Mississippi State in recent decades has made Starkville a marquee American
college town A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several sma ...
. College students and faculty have created a ready audience for several annual art and entertainment events such as the Cotton District Arts Festival, Super Bulldog Weekend, and Bulldog Bash. The Cotton District, North America's oldest
new urbanist New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually inf ...
community, is an active
student quarter A student quarter or a student ghetto is a residential area, usually in proximity to a college or university, that houses mostly students. Due to the youth and relative low income of the students, most of the housing is rented, with some cooperati ...
and entertainment district located halfway between Downtown Starkville and the Mississippi State University campus.


History

The Starkville area has been inhabited for over 2,100 years. Artifacts in the form of clay pot fragments and artwork dating from that time period have been found east of Starkville at the Herman Mound and Village site, which is 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 ...
. The village site can be accessed from the Indian Mound Campground. The earthwork mounds were made by early Native Americans of moundbuilder cultures as part of their religious and political cosmology. Shortly before the American Revolutionary War period, the area was inhabited by the
Choccuma The Chakchiuma were a Native American tribe of the upper Yazoo River region of what is today the state of Mississippi. The identification of the Chakchiuma by the French of the late 17th century as "a Chicacha nation" indicates that they were re ...
(or
Chakchiuma The Chakchiuma were a Native American tribe of the upper Yazoo River region of what is today the state of Mississippi. The identification of the Chakchiuma by the French of the late 17th century as "a Chicacha nation" indicates that they were rel ...
) tribe. They were annihilated about that time by a rare alliance between the
Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
and
Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...
peoples.


Early 19th Century

The modern European-American settlement of the Starkville area was started after the Choctaw inhabitants of
Oktibbeha County Oktibbeha County is a county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census the population was 51,788. The county seat is Starkville. The county's name is derived from a local Native American word meanin ...
surrendered their claims to land in the area in the
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty which was signed on September 27, 1830, and proclaimed on February 24, 1831, between the Choctaw American Indian tribe and the United States Government. This treaty was the first removal treaty wh ...
in 1830. Most of the Native Americans of the Southeast were forced west of the Mississippi River during the 1830s and Indian Removal. White settlers were drawn to the Starkville area because of two large springs, which Native Americans had used for thousands of years. A mill on the Big Black River southwest of town produced
clapboards Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...
, giving the town its original name, Boardtown in 1834. The first court met in 1834 under a large tree. In 1835, when Boardtown was established as the county seat of
Oktibbeha County Oktibbeha County is a county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census the population was 51,788. The county seat is Starkville. The county's name is derived from a local Native American word meanin ...
, it was renamed as Starkville in honor of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark. A log courthouse and a one-room jailhouse were constructed in 1835. The jailhouse was unusual in that it had no doors or windows. Prisoners were made to climb a ladder to the roof and then let down through a trap door using a rope. The first newspaper was founded in 1847. Originally titled ''The Starkville Whig'', it was later renamed ''The Broad Ax''.


Reconstruction to the 20th century

In 1865, during reconstruction, the officer in charge of Starkville allowed a black man accused of raping a white girl to be lynched by running him down with hounds. In 1875 a fire destroyed 52 buildings. The entire business district was destroyed. A carpetbagger named McLaughlin, who served as the local head of the
Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
, assisted in the establishment of a black Methodist church and established a cooperative store for blacks in his home. This enraged the white citizens so the Klan attacked the store. On May 5, 1879, two black men who had been accused of burning a barn, Nevlin Porter and Johnson Spencer, were taken from the jail by a mob of men and hung from crossties of the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobil ...
. In 1888, a mob hanged an African-American man, Eli Bryant, for an alleged attack on a white woman. Several newspapers were founded in this time period, including ''The Starkville News'' in 1891. Early banks included The Peoples Bank in 1889 and Security State Bank in 1896. A
yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
epidemic in 1898 resulted in a quarantine of Starkville's railroads by the towns of West Point, Columbus, Artesia and Kosciusko. This resulted in a depletion of medical and other supplies which ultimately resulted in intervention by the state.


20th century

Before the Civil War, Colonel Montgomery imported cattle from the isle of Jersey, initiating the areas prominence as a dairy center. In 1912, the co-operative creamery was created, and in 1926 the Borden Condensary was established. In April 1912, Gabe (sometimes reported as Abe) Coleman, an African-American man was accused of attacking a farmer's wife and was shot to death by a mob. Nine men were tried for the murder. In February 1912, another African-American man, Mann Hamilton, was murdered by a mob for allegedly attacking a woman. Following an incident in which whites fired into a Republican Meeting at a church in Chapel Hill, Mississippi, killing a black man, a group of black men planned a march in Starkville. They were met at a bridge near the A & M dairy barn by white men from Starkville and West Point armed with cannon loaded with buckshot and iron. In 1915, two African-American men, Dit Seals and Peter Bolen, were hanged in a public execution while a crowd of 5,000, including blacks and whites, and children watched and sang ''There is a Land of Pure Delight''. The crowd ate lunch while the execution was being conducted. Vendors were on hand selling popcorn, soda water and sandwiches. The men had been convicted of killing Willie Taylor, an African-American porter on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The story was widely reported as a "gala hanging" sponsored by the merchants of Starkville by various newspapers including the ''New York World'' and ''Chicago Tribune'', while the Detroit Times described it as little better than a lynching. In 1922, Starkville was the site of a large rally of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. In 1926 the Borden Condensery was established, the first condensery in the southern U.S. At the time, Starkville was served by two railroads, the Illinois Central and the Mobile and Ohio. In 1970, several Black organizations organized a boycott or ''selective buying'' campaign. This was met with firebombings, and a crowd of African-Americans assembled near Henderson High School was broken up by gunfire.


21st Century

On March 21, 2006, Starkville became the first city in Mississippi to adopt a smoking ban for indoor public places, including restaurants and bars. This ordinance went into effect on May 20, 2006. In February 2018, Starkville denied a local LGBTQ organization a permit to host a
pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
. The organizers initiated legal action, after which the city reversed its decision. The parade was held in March 2018 with almost 3,000 attendees.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of 25.8 
square mile The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi2)Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is an are ...
s (66.9 
km² Square kilometre ( International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square kilometer (American spelling), symbol km2, is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. 1 km2 is equa ...
), of which 25.7 square miles (66.5 km) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km) (0.58%) is water.
U.S. Route 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...
and Mississippi Highways 12 and 25 are major roads through Starkville. US 82 runs east to west across the northern portion of the city as a bypass, leading east 25 mi (40 km) to
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
and northwest 28 mi (45 km) to Eupora. Route 25 leads south 31 mi (50 km) to
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
and Route 12 leads southwest 26 mi (42 km) to
Ackerman Ackerman may refer to: Surname *Ackerman (surname), people with the surname Ackerman *Ackerman is a family name for singer Barlin Ackerman Places *Ackerman, Mississippi, town in Choctaw County, Mississippi, US *Ackerman, West Virginia, former un ...
. The nearest airport with scheduled service is
Golden Triangle Regional Airport Golden Triangle Regional Airport is a public use airport in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The airport is located approximately midway between the cities of Starkville, Columbus, and West Point, Mississippi, and serves the surrounding Golden Tria ...
(GTR). George M. Bryan Field (KSTF) serves as Starkville's
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport. There are multiple privately owned airstrips in the area.


Climate


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 24,360 people, 10,092 households, and 4,895 families residing in the city.


2010 census

As of the
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 23,888 people, 9,845 households, and 4,800 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 936.4 people per square mile (328.7/km). There were 11,767 housing units at an average density of 396.7/sq mi (153.2/km). The racial makeup of the city was 58.5%
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 34.06%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2% Native American, 3.75%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.64% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.3% from
two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 9,845 households, out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.1% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.1% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.92. The age distribution, strongly influenced by the presence of Mississippi State, was 18.8% under 18, 29.7% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,357, and the median income for a family was $40,557. Males had a median income of $35,782 versus $23,711 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $22,787. About 19.1% of families and 33.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.


Religion

Starkville has more than 80 places of worship, which serve most religious traditions. Faculty, staff and students at
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...
, including those from other nations, have greatly increased the city's diversity. As of October 2007, approximately half (49.74%) of the residents of Starkville claim a religious affiliation; most are Christian. Of those claiming affiliation, 41.59% self-identify as
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, including 25%
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
and 11%
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
. Lower percentages identify as
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
,
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
.


Arts and culture


Cotton District

The Cotton District is a neighborhood located in Starkville that was redeveloped as part of the
new urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually inf ...
movement. It was founded in 1969 by Dan Camp, who was the developer, owner and property manager of much of the area. The architecture of the Cotton District has historical elements and scale, with Greek Revival mixed with Classical or Victorian. It is a compact, walkable neighborhood that contains many restaurants and bars, in addition to thousands of unique residential units.


Libraries

The Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System is headquartered at its main branch in Downtown Starkville. In addition to the local public library, the Mississippi State University Library has the largest collection in Mississippi. The Mississippi State Mitchell Memorial Library also hosts the
Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
and the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana.


Government

Executive and legislative authority in the city of Starkville is respectively vested in a mayor and seven-member board of aldermen concurrently elected to four-year terms. Since 2017 the mayor has been Lynn Spruill, a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
and the first female mayor elected in Starkville's history. Starkville has a strong-mayor government, with the mayor having the power to appoint city officials and veto decisions by the board of aldermen. Starkville is split between Mississippi House districts 38 and 43, currently represented by Democrat Cheikh Taylor and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Rob Roberson. The city is similarly split between
Mississippi Senate The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol i ...
districts 15 and 16 represented by Republican Bart Williams and Democrat Angela Turner-Ford. Starkville and Oktibbeha County are in the northern districts of the Mississippi Transportation Commission and Public Service Commission, represented by Republican John Caldwell and Democrat Brandon Presley. Starkville is in Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District, represented by Congressman Michael Guest.


Education


Public schools

In 1927, the city and the Rosenwald Foundation opened a pair of schools, the Rosenwald School and the
Oktibbeha County Training School Henderson High School was a public Secondary education in the United States, secondary school in Starkville, Mississippi. United States. It served as the high school for black students until the public schools were integrated in 1970. Grades k&nd ...
, later known as Henderson High School, for its African-American residents. In 1970, integration caused the merger of these schools with the white schools. Henderson was repurposed as a junior high school, and the Rosenwald School was burned to the ground. Until 2015, Starkville and much of the surrounding area was served by the
Starkville School District The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District (SOCSD), formerly Starkville Public School District, is a public school district in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, headquartered in Starkville. The district serves all children within the cou ...
(SSD) while Oktibbeha County was served by Oktibbeha County School District (OCSD). The two districts were realigned following
integration Integration may refer to: Biology *Multisensory integration *Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technology, ...
in 1970 in a way that placed Starkville and majority-white, relatively affluent areas immediately outside of the city limits into SSD while the remaining portions of Oktibbeha County, which are over 90% Black, were placed into OCSD. As a result of this disparity in the racial demographics of the two districts, Oktibbeha County was placed under a Federal desegregation order. Previous attempts to consolidate the two districts during the 1990s and in 2010 had been unsuccessful, but following an act of the Mississippi Legislature the two were consolidated in 2015. Contrary to predictions, the public schools experienced an inflow of students from private schools when the predominantly white Starkville School district merged with the predominantly black Oktibbeha schools. The schools continue to operate under a Federal desegregation order. The following schools of the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District are located in Starkville: * Sudduth Elementary (grades K-1) * Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary (grades 2-4) * Overstreet Elementary (grade 5) * Partnership Middle School (grades 6-7) * Armstrong Junior High School (grades 8-9) * Starkville High School (grades 10-12) * Emerson Preschool * Millsaps Career & Technology Center In 2015 it was announced that SOCSD and Mississippi State University would cooperate in establishing a partnership school. The school will be for all grade 6 and 7 students in Oktibbeha County and will be located on the Mississippi State University campus. The school will serve as an instructional site for students and faculty of Mississippi State University's College of Education, and as a one-of-a-kind rural education research center. Construction on the partnership school began in spring 2017. The school opened in August 2020. Prior to integration, African-American students in Starkville attended the historic Henderson High School. The school was later re-purposed as Starkville School District's
junior high A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...
school and is now an elementary school.


Private schools

Private schools in Starkville include: *
Starkville Academy Starkville Academy (SA) is a private kindergarten through 12th grade school in Starkville, Mississippi, operated by the Oktibbeha Educational Foundation. It was founded in 1969 on property adjacent to Starkville High School as a segregation acade ...
, founded 1969 * Starkville Christian School, founded 1996 Starkville Academy has been described as a
segregation academy Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...
. Despite fears that the consolidation of the Starkville and Oktibbeha County school districts in 2015 would lead to additional
White flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
to private schools, district consolidation actually resulted in decreased enrollment at area private schools as more white parents living in Oktibbeha County opted to enroll their children in the consolidated district.


Tertiary education and libraries

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...
is partially in the Starkville city limits, and partially in the
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
.
East Mississippi Community College East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), formerly East Mississippi Junior College, is a public community college in Scooba, Mississippi. EMCC serves and is supported by Clay, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties in ...
is the designated community college for the county, but does not operate facilities in it. Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System maintains the Starkville Library.


Media


Newspapers

* The Starkville Daily News * The Reflector (MSU Student Newspaper) * The Starkville Dispatch (a localized edition of
The Commercial Dispatch ''The Commercial Dispatch'' is the daily newspaper of Columbus, Mississippi, United States. It was created from the merger of two older papers, the ''Commercial'' and the ''Dispatch'', in the early 20th century. The first issue of the consolidated ...
)


Radio

*
WMSV WMSV FM 91.1 is a radio station in Starkville, Mississippi located on the campus of Mississippi State University. History Prior to WMSV, Mississippi State had a student-run radio station, WMSB, which went off the air permanently at the end ...
(Mississippi State Radio Station) * WMAB (Public Radio) * WMSU * WQJB * WMXU * WJZB *
WSMS WSMS (99.9 FM, "The Fox") is a Mississippi based radio station broadcasting an album-oriented rock (AOR) music format. Licensed to Artesia, Mississippi, United States, the station serves the Columbus-Starkville-West Point area. The station is cur ...
* WSSO (WSSO was Starkville's first radio station, first broadcasting in 1949 at 250W on 1230 AM)


Television

* WCBI *
WTVA WTVA (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, serving the Columbus–Tupelo market as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. It is owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, which provides certain services to West Poi ...
*
WLOV-TV WLOV-TV (channel 27) is a television station licensed to West Point, Mississippi, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Columbus–Tupelo market. It is owned by Coastal Television Broadcasting Company, which maintains a local marke ...


Magazines

* Town and Gown Magazine


Notable people

* Luqman Ali, musician *
Dee Barton Dewells "Dee" Barton Jr. (September 18, 1937 — December 3, 2001) was an American jazz trombonist, big band drummer, and prolific composer for big band and motion pictures. He is best known for his association with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Li ...
, composer *
Cool Papa Bell James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's sp ...
, African-American baseball player; member of
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
* Fred Bell, baseball player in the
Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
; brother of
Cool Papa Bell James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's sp ...
*
Josh Booty Joshua Gibson Booty (born April 29, 1975) is a former professional baseball and American football player. Booty played briefly in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, and also in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback. Hig ...
, professional baseball and football player *
Julio Borbon Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...
, professional baseball player * Marquez Branson, professional football player * A. J. Brown, NFL wide receiver *
Harry Burgess Harry Burgess may refer to: *Harry Burgess (footballer) (1904–1957), footballer for England, Stockport County, Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea *Harry Burgess (governor) {{Infobox officeholder , image=Harry Burgess.jpg , caption= Burgess as a We ...
, governor of the
Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
, 1928–1932 * Cyril Edward Cain, preacher, professor, historian; lived in Starkville * John Wilson Carpenter III, distinguished U.S. Air Force pilot and commander * Jemmye Carroll, appeared on MTV's ''
The Real World Real World or The Real World may also refer to: * Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds Television * ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017 * "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...
'' and '' The Challenge'' *
Joe Carter Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays ...
, professional football player *
Hughie Critz Hugh Melville Critz (September 17, 1900 – January 10, 1980) was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1920s and the New York Giants in the 1930s. Career overview Critz was born in Starkville, Missis ...
, professional baseball player * Sylvester Croom, first black football coach in the Southeastern Conference * Mohammad "Mo" Dakhlalla, convicted of offenses related to his attempts to join
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
in Syria *
Willie Daniel William Paul Daniel (November 10, 1937 – June 29, 2015) was an American football defensive back who played nine seasons in the NFL. Career Daniel was born in New Albany, Mississippi. He played high school football at Macon High School and i ...
, professional football player and businessman *
Kermit Davis John Kermit Davis Jr. (born December 14, 1959) is an American college basketball coach for the Ole Miss Rebels. Davis was previously the head coach at Middle Tennessee. His head coaching experience also includes brief stops at Idaho (twice) and T ...
, basketball player and coach *
Al Denson Albert Wray Denson (born May 13, 1960, in Starkville, Mississippi), more commonly known as Al Denson, is a contemporary Christian music artist and a Christian radio and television show host. Biography Denson first became well known for his ...
, musician and Christian radio and television show host *
Antuan Edwards Antuan Minye' Edwards (born May 26, 1977) is a retired American football player. He played safety in the National Football League. Edwards was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round (25th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft out of Clemson ...
, professional football player * Drew Eubanks, basketball player *
Rockey Felker Rockey Felker (born February 1, 1953) is a former quarterback, head football coach, and retired as director of player personnel for Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi after the 2017 season. After serving three different stin ...
, football player and coach * Willie Gay, Jr., NFL linebacker * William L. Giles, former president of Mississippi State University; lived in Starkville *
Scott Tracy Griffin Scott Tracy Griffin is an American writer, actor and "one of the world's leading experts" on author Edgar Rice Burroughs and his works. He is the author of ''Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration,'' the "only official commemorative illustrated history ...
, author, actor, and pop culture historian * Horace Harned, politician * Helen Young Hayes, investment manager * Kim Hill, Christian singer * Shauntay Hinton, Miss District of Columbia USA 2002, Miss USA 2002 * Richard E. Holmes, medical doctor and one of the five young black Mississippians who pioneered the effort to desegregate the major universities of Mississippi; graduate of Henderson High School * Bailey Howell, college and professional basketball player; lives in Starkville * Gary Jackson, served in Mississippi Senate *
Paul Jackson Paul Jackson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Paul Jackson (bassist) (1947–2021), American jazz fusion bassist * Paul Jackson Jr. (born 1959), American jazz fusion guitarist * Paul Jackson (poker player), English professional poker player ...
, artist; spent childhood in Starkville *
Hayes Jones Hayes Wendell Jones (born August 4, 1938) is an American former athlete, winner of the 110 m hurdles event at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He was born in Starkville, Mississippi. Jones first major title was the hurdles at the 1958 AAU championsh ...
, gold medalist in 110-meter hurdles at Tokyo 1964 Olympics * Martin F. Jue, amateur radio inventor, entrepreneur; founder of
MFJ Enterprises MFJ Enterprises, founded in 1972 by Martin F. Jue, is a manufacturer of a broad range of products for the amateur radio market. They specialize in station accessories, such as antenna tuners and antenna switching equipment. MFJ now manufactures ...
* Mark E. Keenum, president of Mississippi State University * Harlan D. Logan, Rhodes Scholar, tennis coach, magazine editor, and politician *
Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State Auditor ...
, former Mississippi governor * Ben McGee, professional football player *
Jim McIngvale James Franklin McIngvale (born February 11, 1951), also known as "Mattress Mack", is an American businessman. He is known for owning and operating the Gallery Furniture retail chain, based in Houston, Texas. Early life and education McIngval ...
, businessman in Houston, Texas *
Shane McRae Shane McRae (born July 23, 1977) is an American actor. In 2017, McRae joined the cast of the Amazon Studios series ''Sneaky Pete'' in the role of Taylor. He also played Dickie Barrett in the Spectrum Original series ''Paradise Lost''. Early lif ...
, actor *
William M. Miley Major General William Maynadier "Bud" Miley (December 26, 1897 – September 24, 1997) was a senior United States Army officer and a professor of military science who fought in both World War I and World War II. During the latter, he was one of t ...
, U.S. Army major general; professor of military science; lived in Starkville *
Freddie Milons Freddie Milons (born June 27, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at The University of Alabama. Milons was also a me ...
, college and professional football player * Leland Mitchell, professional basketball player * Monroe Mitchell, professional baseball player *
William Bell Montgomery William Bell Montgomery (August 21, 1829 – September 25, 1904) was an American farmer, businessman, and editor of farming periodicals. Early life and education He was born in Fairfield District, South Carolina, on August 21, 1829, the son ...
, agricultural publisher *
Jess Mowry Jess Mowry (born March 27, 1960 near Starkville, Mississippi) is an American author of books and stories for children and young adults. He has written eighteen books and many short stories for and about black children and teens in a variety of g ...
, author of juvenile books * Jasmine Murray, singer *
Travis Outlaw Travis Marquez “Bonesaw” Outlaw (born September 18, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. High school career Outlaw attended Starkville High School, where he played for the Starkville Yellowjackets high school basketbal ...
, professional basketball player * Archie Pate, baseball player in the
Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
* John Peoples, President of Jackson State University from 1967-1984 *
Ron Polk Ronald George Polk (born January 12, 1944) is an American professional coach in NCAA Division I college baseball. He was a long-time head baseball coach at Mississippi State and is considered to be the "Father of Southeastern Conference Basebal ...
, Olympic and college Baseball Coach. * Del Rendon, musician; lived in Starkville *
Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...
, professional football player; member of NFL Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame * Dero A. Saunders, journalist and author * Bill Stacy, football player, mayor of Starkville *
Rick Stansbury Richard Lee Stansbury (born December 23, 1959), is an American college basketball and the current head coach of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team. He was previously the head coach at Mississippi State. He was hired as the WKU head c ...
, Basketball coach *
John Marshall Stone John Marshall Stone (April 30, 1830March 26, 1900) was an American politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served longer as governor of that state than anyone else, from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896. He approved a new constitut ...
, longest-serving governor of Mississippi; second president of Mississippi State University; namesake of
Stone County, Mississippi Stone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,786. Its county seat is Wiggins. Stone County was formed from the northern portion of Harrison County on June 5, 1916. The county ...
*
April Sykes April L. Sykes (born July 30, 1990) is an American professional basketball player most recently with the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. Rutgers statistics Source USA Basketball Sykes was selected to repre ...
, professional basketball player in the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
*
Amy Tuck Amy Tuck (born July 8, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2008. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, she was previously a member of t ...
, former Mississippi Lieutenant Governor; lives in Starkville *
Latavious Williams Latavious Williams (born March 29, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Kazma in Kuwait. After graduating from high school, he played with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League before being drafted by the Miami Heat w ...
, professional basketball player *
Jaelyn Young Jaelyn Delshaun Young is an American woman, who with fellow Mississippi State University student and her fiancé, an American man named Muhammad Oda "Mo" Dakhlalla, attempted to join ISIS in 2015. The two were students at Mississippi State Universi ...
, terrorist


In popular culture

Pilot
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
, the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, made a successful landing on the outskirts of Starkville in 1927 during his
Guggenheim Tour The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics was established by Daniel Guggenheim and his son, Harry Guggenheim on June 16, 1926. Between 1926 and 1930 the fund disbursed $3 million, making grants that established schools or researc ...
. He stayed overnight at a boarding house in the Maben community. Lindbergh later wrote about that landing in his autobiographical account of his barnstorming days, titled ''WE.'' Starkville is one of several places in the United States that claims to have created
Tee Ball Tee-ball (also teeball, tee ball or T-ball) is a team sport based on a simplified form of baseball or softball. It is intended as an introduction for children aged 4 to 6 to develop ball-game skills and have fun. Description Tee-ball association ...
. Tee Ball was popularized in Starkville in 1961 by W.W. Littlejohn and Dr. Clyde Muse, members of the Starkville Rotarians.
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
was arrested for public drunkenness (though he described it as being picked up for picking flowers) in Starkville and held overnight at the city jail on May 11, 1965. This inspired his song "Starkville City Jail":
''They're bound to get you,''
''Cause they got a curfew,''
''And you go to the Starkville city jail.''
The song appears on the album ''
At San Quentin ''Johnny Cash at San Quentin'' is the 31st overall album and second live album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, recorded live at San Quentin State Prison on February 24, 1969, and released on June 16 of that same year. The concert was ...
.'' From November 2 to 4, 2007, the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival was held in Starkville. At the festival, Cash was offered a symbolic
posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...
pardon by the city. They honored Cash's life and music, and the festival was expected to become an annual event. The festival was started by Robbie Ward, who said: "Johnny Cash was arrested in seven places, but he only wrote a song about one of those places." In 2021, a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker honoring Cash was installed in Starkville near the Oktibbeha County Jail. In 2014,
Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...
visited the Hotel Chester in his series
Hotel Hell ''Hotel Hell'' is an American reality television series created, hosted and narrated by Gordon Ramsay, which ran on the Fox network for three seasons from 2012 to 2016. It aired on Monday nights at 8 pm ET/PT. It was Ramsay's fourth series for t ...
in a successful attempt to help the struggling hotel remain in business.


References


External links


Official City of Starkville WebsiteGreater Starkville Development Partnership (GSDP) website''Starkville Daily News'' website
{{authority control Cities in Mississippi Cities in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi County seats in Mississippi Micropolitan areas of Mississippi Articles containing video clips