Starkville, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
 Cotton District | |
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
| Nicknames: | |
 Location of Starkville, Mississippi | |
  Starkville, Mississippi Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:33°27′45″N88°49′12″W / 33.46250°N 88.82000°W /33.46250; -88.82000 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Mississippi |
| County | Oktibbeha |
| City | 1835 |
| Named after | John Stark |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-Council government |
| • Mayor | Lynn Spruill (D)[3][4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 25.63 sq mi (66.37 km2) |
| • Land | 25.51 sq mi (66.08 km2) |
| • Water | 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2) |
| Elevation | 335 ft (102 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 24,360 |
| • Density | 954.7/sq mi (368.63/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 39759-39760 |
| Area code | 662 |
| FIPS code | 28-70240 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0678227 |
| Website | cityofstarkville.org |
Starkville is a city in and thecounty seat ofOktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of the2020 United States census, Starkville's population is 24,360, making it the 16th-most populated city in Mississippi.[6] Starkville is the largest city in theGolden Triangle, which had a population of 175,474 in 2020, and the principal city of theStarkville–Columbus, MS CSA. Founded in 1831, the city was originally known asBoardtown for the local sawmilling operation there, but was renamed in 1837 to honorAmerican Revolutionary War generalJohn Stark.[7]
Starkville is adjacent to and closely associated withMississippi State University, which was founded as the state'sflagshipland-grantresearch university in 1878. The university was located near Starkville in the MississippiBlack Belt due to the region's agricultural productivity, particularly in the timber, cattle, and dairying industries. The expansion of the university transformed Starkville from a primarily agricultural center into acollege town, and its economy today is mostly centered around advanced research and manufacturing, retail, and tourism supported by the university population. TheCotton District, developed in the 1960s as North America's firstNew Urbanist community, is an activestudent quarter located between downtown Starkville and the university campus.[8]
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 theNational Register of Historic Places. The village site can be accessed from the Indian Mound Campground. Theearthwork 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 theChoccuma (orChakchiuma) tribe. They were annihilated about that time by a rare alliance between theChoctaw andChickasaw peoples.[9]
The modern European-American settlement of the Starkville area was started after the Choctaw inhabitants ofOktibbeha County surrendered their claims to land in the area in theTreaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek 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 near the old part of the town, which Native Americans had used for thousands of years. A mill on theBig Black River southwest of town producedclapboards, 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 ofOktibbeha County, it was renamed as Starkville in honor ofRevolutionary War heroGeneral John Stark.[10] 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.[11]
The first newspaper was founded in 1847. Originally titledThe Starkville Whig, it was later renamedThe Broad Ax.[11]
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.[12]
In 1875 a fire destroyed 52 buildings. The entire business district was destroyed.[11]
Acarpetbagger named McLaughlin, who served as the local head of theFreedmen's Bureau, 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 theKlan attacked the store.[13]
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 hanged from crossties of theMobile and Ohio Railroad.[14][15]
In 1888, a mob hanged an African-American man, Eli Bryant, for an alleged attack on a white woman.[16]
Several newspapers were founded in this time period, includingThe Starkville News in 1891. Early banks included The Peoples Bank in 1889 and Security State Bank in 1896.[11]
Ayellow fever 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.[17]
Before the Civil War, Colonel Montgomery imported cattle from the isle ofJersey, initiating the areas prominence as a dairy center. In 1912, the co-operative creamery was created, and in 1926 the Borden Condensary was established.[11]
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.[18] In February 1912, another African-American man, Mann Hamilton, was murdered by a mob for allegedly attacking a woman.[19] 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 theA & M dairy barn by white men from Starkville and West Point armed with cannon loaded with buckshot and iron.[20]
In 1915, two African-American men, Dit Seals and Peter Bolen,[21] were hanged in a public execution while a crowd of 5,000, including blacks and whites, and children watched and sangThere is a Land of Pure Delight. The crowd ate lunch while the execution was being conducted. Vendors were on hand selling popcorn, soda pop 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 theNew York World andChicago Tribune, while the Detroit Times described it as little better than a lynching.[22][23]
In 1922, Starkville was the site of a large rally of theKu Klux Klan.[24]
In 1926 the Borden Condensery was established, the first condensery in the southern U.S. At the time, Starkville was served by two railroads, theIllinois Central and the Mobile and Ohio.[25]
In 1970, several Black organizations organized a boycott orselective buying campaign. This was met with firebombings, and a crowd of African-Americans assembled near Henderson High School was broken up by gunfire.[26]
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.[27]
In February 2018, Starkville denied a local LGBTQ organization a permit to host apride parade. The organizers initiated legal action,[28] after which the city reversed its decision.[29] The parade was held in March 2018 with almost 3,000 attendees.[30]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.8 square miles (66.9 km2), of which 25.7 square miles (66.5 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km2) (0.58%) is water.
U.S. Route 82 and Mississippi Highways12 and25 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) toColumbus and northwest 28 mi (45 km) toEupora. Route 25 leads south 31 mi (50 km) toLouisville and Route 12 leads southwest 26 mi (42 km) toAckerman. The nearest airport with scheduled service isGolden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR).George M. Bryan Field (KSTF) serves as Starkville'sgeneral aviation airport. There are multiple privately owned airstrips in the area.
| Climate data for Starkville, Mississippi (Mississippi State University) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1891–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 81 (27) | 88 (31) | 94 (34) | 93 (34) | 100 (38) | 105 (41) | 111 (44) | 108 (42) | 109 (43) | 99 (37) | 90 (32) | 82 (28) | 111 (44) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 54.1 (12.3) | 58.6 (14.8) | 66.8 (19.3) | 75.0 (23.9) | 82.5 (28.1) | 88.8 (31.6) | 91.7 (33.2) | 91.7 (33.2) | 86.8 (30.4) | 77.0 (25.0) | 65.4 (18.6) | 56.9 (13.8) | 74.6 (23.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 43.7 (6.5) | 47.4 (8.6) | 55.1 (12.8) | 63.2 (17.3) | 71.8 (22.1) | 78.9 (26.1) | 82.0 (27.8) | 81.2 (27.3) | 75.6 (24.2) | 64.3 (17.9) | 53.4 (11.9) | 46.4 (8.0) | 63.6 (17.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.2 (0.7) | 36.2 (2.3) | 43.3 (6.3) | 51.3 (10.7) | 61.0 (16.1) | 69.0 (20.6) | 72.2 (22.3) | 70.7 (21.5) | 64.3 (17.9) | 51.7 (10.9) | 41.5 (5.3) | 35.9 (2.2) | 52.5 (11.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −6 (−21) | −12 (−24) | 11 (−12) | 20 (−7) | 31 (−1) | 41 (5) | 52 (11) | 52 (11) | 37 (3) | 26 (−3) | 10 (−12) | −8 (−22) | −12 (−24) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.48 (139) | 6.18 (157) | 5.37 (136) | 6.07 (154) | 4.23 (107) | 4.59 (117) | 4.51 (115) | 4.21 (107) | 3.74 (95) | 3.86 (98) | 4.42 (112) | 5.32 (135) | 57.98 (1,473) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.3 (0.76) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 9.0 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 9.8 | 9.7 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 8.9 | 10.3 | 114.1 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Source:NOAA[31][32] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 475 | — | |
| 1880 | 1,500 | 215.8% | |
| 1890 | 1,725 | 15.0% | |
| 1900 | 1,986 | 15.1% | |
| 1910 | 2,698 | 35.9% | |
| 1920 | 2,596 | −3.8% | |
| 1930 | 3,612 | 39.1% | |
| 1940 | 4,900 | 35.7% | |
| 1950 | 7,107 | 45.0% | |
| 1960 | 9,041 | 27.2% | |
| 1970 | 11,369 | 25.7% | |
| 1980 | 16,139 | 42.0% | |
| 1990 | 18,458 | 14.4% | |
| 2000 | 21,869 | 18.5% | |
| 2010 | 23,888 | 9.2% | |
| 2020 | 24,360 | 2.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[33] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 13,502 | 55.43% |
| Black or African American | 8,365 | 34.34% |
| Native American | 34 | 0.14% |
| Asian | 1,047 | 4.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 5 | 0.02% |
| Other/Mixed | 736 | 3.02% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 671 | 2.75% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 24,360 people, 10,092 households, and 4,895 families residing in the city.
As of the2010 United States census,[35] there were 23,888 people, 9,845 households, and 4,800 families residing in the city. The population density was 936.4 inhabitants per square mile (361.5/km2). There were 11,767 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile (153.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 58.5%white, 34.06%African American, 0.2%Native American, 3.75%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 0.64% fromother races, and 1.3% fromtwo or more races.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% weremarried 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. Theper capita income for the city was $22,787. About 19.1% of families and 33.6% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.
Starkville has more than 80 places of worship, which serve most religious traditions. Faculty, staff and students atMississippi State University, including those from other nations, have greatly increased the city's diversity.[36] 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 asProtestant, including 25%Baptist and 11%Methodist. Lower percentages identify asCatholic,Mormon,Hindu andMuslim.[37][38]
The Cotton District is a neighborhood located in Starkville that was redeveloped as part of thenew urbanism movement.[39] It was founded in 1969[40][41] by Dan Camp, who was the developer, owner and property manager of much of the area.[42] 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.
TheStarkville-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.[43] The Mississippi State Mitchell Memorial Library also hosts theUlysses S. Grant Presidential Library and the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection ofLincolniana.
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.[44] Since 2017 the mayor has been Lynn Spruill, aDemocrat and the first female mayor elected in Starkville's history. Starkville has astrong-mayor government, with the mayor having the power to appoint city officials and veto decisions by the board of aldermen.
Starkville is split betweenMississippi House districts 38 and 43,[45] currently represented by Democrat Cheikh Taylor andRepublican Rob Roberson. The city is similarly split betweenMississippi Senate districts 15 and 16 represented by Republican Bart Williams[46] and Democrat Angela Turner-Ford. Starkville and Oktibbeha County are in the northern districts of theMississippi Transportation Commission andPublic Service Commission, represented by Republican John Caldwell[47] and DemocratBrandon Presley.
Starkville is inMississippi's 3rd Congressional District, represented by CongressmanMichael Guest.
In 1927, the city and theRosenwald Foundation opened a pair of schools, the Rosenwald School and theOktibbeha County Training School, later known asHenderson High School, for its African-American residents. In 1970, integration caused the merger of these schools with the white schools.[48]Henderson was repurposed as a junior high school, and the Rosenwald School was burned to the ground.[49]
Until 2015, Starkville and much of the surrounding area was served by theStarkville School District (SSD) while Oktibbeha County was served by Oktibbeha County School District (OCSD). The two districts were realigned followingintegration 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.[50] As a result of this disparity in the racial demographics of the two districts, Oktibbeha County was placed under a Federal desegregation order.[51] Previous attempts to consolidate the two districts during the 1990s and in 2010 had been unsuccessful, but following an act of theMississippi Legislature the two were consolidated in 2015.[52] 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.[53]
The schools continue to operate under a Federal desegregation order.[54]
The following schools of the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District are located in Starkville:[55]
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.[56] Construction on the partnership school began in spring 2017.[57] The school opened in August 2020.[58]
Prior to integration, African-American students in Starkville attended the historicHenderson High School. The school was later re-purposed as Starkville School District'sjunior high school and is now an elementary school.[59]
Private schools in Starkville include:
Starkville Academy has been described as asegregation academy.[60] Despite fears that the consolidation of the Starkville and Oktibbeha County school districts in 2015 would lead to additionalWhite flight 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.[61]
Mississippi State University is partially in the Starkville city limits, and partially in theMississippi Statecensus-designated place.[62]
East Mississippi Community College is the designated community college for the county,[63] but does not operate facilities in it.
Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library System maintains the Starkville Library.[64]
PilotCharles Lindbergh, the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, made a successful landing on the outskirts of Starkville in 1927 during hisGuggenheim Tour.[107] He stayed overnight at a boarding house in theMaben community. Lindbergh later wrote about that landing in his autobiographical account of his barnstorming days, titledWE.
Starkville is one of several places in the United States that claims to have createdTee Ball.[108] Tee Ball was popularized in Starkville in 1961 by W.W. Littlejohn and Dr. Clyde Muse, members of the StarkvilleRotarians.[109]
Johnny Cash 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 albumAt San Quentin.
From November 2 to 4, 2007, the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival was held in Starkville. At the festival, Cash was offered a symbolicposthumous pardon by the city. They honored Cash's life and music, and the festival was expected to become an annual event.[110] 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."[111]
In 2021, a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker honoring Cash was installed in Starkville near the Oktibbeha County Jail.[112]
In 2014,Gordon Ramsay visited the Hotel Chester in his seriesHotel Hell in a successful attempt to help the struggling hotel remain in business.[113]
As the people carefully watched the scaffold they munched on sandwiches hard boiled eggs, and pie
Mississippi State Univ (in blue text)
Mississippi State Univ (in blue text)
Must be a resident of the following counties– [...] Oktibbeha, [...]
Municipalities and communities ofOktibbeha County, Mississippi,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
