Starkville, Mississippi
Starkville, Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| Nickname: Starkvegas | |
 Location of Starkville, Mississippi | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Oktibbeha |
| Area | |
• Total | 25.8 sq mi (66.9 km2) |
| • Land | 25.7 sq mi (66.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.4 km2) |
| Elevation | 335 ft (102 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
• Total | 21,869 |
| • Density | 851.4/sq mi (328.7/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 |
Starkville is a city in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 21,869. It is the county seat of Oktibbeha CountyTemplate:GR.
The campus of Mississippi State University is located in Starkville. The university dominates the city's economy.
History
The Starkville area has been inhabited for over 2000 years, since the B.C. time period. 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, a National Historic Register site. The modern early settlement of the Starkville area was started after the Choctaw inhabitants of Oktibbeha County surrendered their claims to land in the area in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. White settlers were drawn to the Starkville area because of two large springs. A mill southwest of town provided clapboards which gave the town its original name, Boardtown. In 1835, Boardtown was established as the county seat of Oktibbeha County and its name was changed to Starkville in honor of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark[1].
Geography
Starkville is located at 33°27′45″N 88°49′12″W / 33.46250°N 88.82000°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (33.462471, -88.819990)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 66.9 km² (25.8 mi²). 66.5 km² (25.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.58%) is water.
US Highway 82 and Mississippi Highways 12 and 25 are major roads through Starkville. The nearest airport with scheduled service is Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR). George M. Bryan Field (KSTF) serves as Starkville's general aviation airport. There are multiple privately owned airstrips in the area.
Demographics
As of the 2000 censusTemplate:GR, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 328.7/km² (851.4/mi²). There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 153.2/km² (396.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.60% White, 30.02% African American, 0.15% Native American, 3.75% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.34% of the population.
There were 9,462 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 2.24 and the average family size was 2.92.
The age distribution, which is strongly influenced by the presence of Mississippi State, is: 20.0% under the age of 18, 29.7% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% 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 $22,590, and the median income for a family was $39,557. Males had a median income of $35,782 versus $21,711 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,272. About 18.1% of families and 31.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over. These median income figures are significantly skewed due to a significant number of people on government assistance. This masks a higher median income that residents enjoy.
Education
Public schools
The City of Starkville is served by the Starkville School District. Starkville High School is a 5a ranked school.
Private schools
- Starkville Academy [1]
Popular culture
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, which was the inspiration for 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.
Local oral tradition has it that he finished a gig at what is now the 'Dark Horse Tavern' and then walked a block west to the northwest corner of Lee Boulevard (now MLK) and Montgomery Street, where he helped himself to the flower bed at the front of the house.
On November 2 – November 4, 2007 the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival was held in Starkville, the city where Cash had been arrested over 40 years earlier. The festival, where he was offered a symbolic posthumous pardon, honored Cash's life and music, and is expected to become an annual event.[2]
A song entitled "Starkville" appears on the Indigo Girls' 2002 album Become You.
Starkville also appears on a map of Mississippi in the controversial film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
Notable people of Starkville
Birthplace of:
- Cool Papa Bell, African-American baseball great
- Shauntay Hinton, Miss USA 2002
- Hayes Jones, gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics [2]
- Travis Outlaw, NBA basketball player with the Portland Trail Blazers
- Antuan Edwards, NFL player [3] [4]
- Jess Mowry (1960), American writer of juvenile books
Current residence of:
- Sylvester Croom, first African-American head coach in the SEC
Educated in:
- Edwin Granberry, one of the writers of the comic strip "Buz Sawyer"
- See also: Notable alumni of Mississippi State University
Other:
- Major General William Miles (Bud) Miley U.S. 17th Airborne Division WW II, former assistant professor of military science at Mississippi State University [5]
- Del Rendon, Musician
Trivia
- 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[3].
References
- Citations
- ^ "Starkville's History". Retrieved 2006-08-24.
- ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20611738/
- ^ "Ordinance Number 2006-02" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-09-05.
