Starkville's history 1832-1874

Lee County Library
Leesburg,GA
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HISTORY
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(Georgia Atlas and Gazetteer)
1
Starkville, once the county seat of Lee
County, presently remains a ghost town with a
lively past. Starkville was located 3 miles east
of Leesburg on Highway 195. Throughout the
\ South this thriving, vibrant town was famous for
^ its genial hospitality and friendly people
\) (Lee County Historical Society 100).
In 1832 the town Starksville was bom.
Starksville was named in the honor of General
John Stark who was a hero of the Indian Wars
and the next to the last surviving general of the
Revolutionary War. In the early years of
Starksvilles history, historians described this
town as an agricultural community, located half
a mile from the Muckalee Creek (Georgia
Historical Records Survey 9). Over the years
Starksvilles name has had several spellings-
Starkeville, Starksville, and Starkesville (Love).
However, officially the spelling of the towns
name became Starkville by 1847 (Georgia
Historical Records Survey 9).
Starkville as the county seat of Lee County
had a rocky past. Initially, the Act of December
20,1832, established this small community as
the county seat. The Superior Court was held in
homes, stores, and other rented facilities until a
courthouse was erected in 1837. The Act of
1839 established the public building sites at
Starkeville. In 1840 a primitive jail was built.
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In December of 1858, a contract was approved
for a new courthouse costing $3,900. A
committee was appointed to superintend the
building. The construction was completed in
1861. (Lee County Historical Society 20)
( Original photograph of the courthouse
obtained from the grand niece of Mr. William
Hugh Baldy, formerly Deputy Clerk of
Superior Court of said County and
Surveyor at the time Starkville was the
County Seat of Lee County.)
3
However, dissatisfaction with Starkville as the
county seat arose. The Act of 1847 erased the
Act of 1832, and an election was held to
determine where the grand jury should choose
some eligible place in the center of town in
1848. Since George White in 1849 described
Starkvilles courthouse and jail as inferior
buildings, constructed of wood, Starkville lost
the election. The Act of 1851 selected
Starkville as permanent county seat and gave
permission to build a courthouse and jail by
financing through extra tax not exceeding 100
percent on the state tax for that purpose.
William Love built this courthouse, which later
burned in 1858. However, as soon as the
courthouse was built, disgruntlement with
Starkville as the county seat again prevailed.
The legislature of 1854 repealed the Act of
1851, which led to choosing a committee to
select another county seat. Among the members
of the commission were James Rouse, Griffin
Smith, Robert Reeves, William J. Parker and
Robert T. Bradley. The new site was Webster,
which only lasted for two years. In 1858
Starkville again became the site for the county
seat of Lee County. The early records from the
Starkvilles courthouse were burned along with
the building. In December 1858 a new
courthouse was built costing $3900. Due to the
4
poor conditions of the jail in the 1860s and
1870s, Albanys jail and the Sumter County jail
were used. Again the legislature on August
20,1872, chose another commission to select
appropriate site for the county seat for Lee
County. The members selected were Isaac P.
Tifton, Henry L. Long, Fred H. West, William
T. Sadler, and Virginia Hill. The new county
seat was Wooten Station or now presently
known as Leesburg (Georgia Historical Records
Survey 9-12).
Education was important to the first settlers.
In 1833 the Starkville Academy was founded
with Samuel Hiceler, John Ritcherson, Dudley
Sneed, and Joshua Clark as trustees. Several
other trustees were selected on the board. These
included Dr. James L. Manning, Daniel J.
Thomas, William Smith, John R. Cane, and
Mordecai Alexander. In the same year a site
was selected for building the academy. In 1838
a financial report was given that included
$1,786 for receipts and $ 1,795 of expenses.
Thirty-two students, 18 male and 14 female,
attended; various subjects were taught. (Georgia
Historical Records Survey 25).
The life of Starkville was like an old western
town during the years before the war and after
the war. Starkvilles social and political climate
was described as a wide open, rip-snorting
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town. By 1837 the town included five
dwellings: two taverns, one store, an academy,
and a courthouse. In 1839 the town Starkville
was incorporated, and by 1849 only 100 people
resided in this community. There were many
duels and lots of drinking. In essence, Starkville
was a gun tottin town (Georgia Historical
Records Survey 9-28). Mr. Delbert Murray,
currently president of the Lee County Historical
Society, tells the story of a 25- year-old doctor
who died in a duel battle. He was buried at the
old Starkville Cemetery (Murray).
As the town grew, progress as well as
partying dominated the peoples attitude in the
town. The population expanded to 1800 -2000
including slaves (Lee County Historical Society
100). Twelve saloons and four gambling halls
were in operation (Love). There were also
twenty stores in Starkville, but only two
policemen tried to maintain order (Lee County
Historical Society 101). Because of the rip -
roaring activities that seemed to control the
town, there were many tragedies and frequent
homicides. In fact, the homicide record of old
Starkville rivaled the wild western town of
Cripple Creek, California (Georgia Historical
Records Survey 42).
After the cleanup of Starkville Cemetery, we
discovered the grave of John C. Calhoun, M.D
who died at the age of 25 on Oct. 9th, 1852.
We believe he was the individual who died in
the duel.
7
COPT OP SKBICH ovnod by S.P. Crotwall, County Surrayor
The Town Plot of Starkville
The most enjoyable pastimes in the town
were rifle and pistol target shooting, horse
racing, fighting and chicken fighting. These
sporting amusements attracted many visitors.
Hospitality and a glad hand greeted them; the
men of Starkville toted guns, shot straight,
drank good liquor, and voted democratic
tickets (Georgia Historical Records Survey 42).
Although the citizens seemed to enjoy a wild
lifestyle, religion was also important to the
community. In 1842 the Caney Head Methodist
Church was founded. The trustees of this church
were Issac O. Edwards, Edward Moreland,
Leroy Stanford, Almerena Brunson, John W.
Jordan, George C. Ticnor, and Thomas High.
The first minister was thought to be Rev.
Thomas Godwin (Roberts and Gibson 6-7).
There was also a Baptist church, a Presbyterian
church, and four black churches (Lee County
Historical Society 101).
The citizens of Starkville made the town.
The original families included the Gilberts,
Glimmers, Tisons, Sullivans, Lindsays, Porters,
Stokes, Mayos, Popes, Kings, Monroes,
Kipseys, Morgans, Kings, Carters, Floyds,
Kimbroughs, Jones, Wyches, Sharpies, Deeses,
and others. In 1837 one lawyer, one doctor, and
four mechanics resided in Starkville. Later other
physicians were Doctors Hale, Smith, Monroe,
9
and Lipsey. Some of the attorneys included
Willis A. Hawkins, George D. Kimbrough,
Richard P. Lyon and the famous humorist K.H.
(Kit) Warren. The leading merchants were
L.P.Porter, James R. Gilbert, and G.M. Stokes.
One hotel was run by Mrs. Fannie Lindsay and
Mrs. Widdon Kelly who later married Dr.
Joseph T. Love. Mrs. Mary Johnson ran
another hotel.
During the Civil War two companies from
Lee County were organized and the citizens of
Starkville and Lee County volunteered. They
participated in some of the bloodiest fighting
through a unit called Company B 11th Georgia
Lee County Volunteers. After Capt. John
Stokes from Starkville was killed at Gettysburg,
Capt. George D. Kimbrough also of Starkville
took over Lee County Volunteers. It was
reported that all the men in Company B were
killed, wounded, or taken prisoner (Love).
Transportation became the vital key in the
survival of the town. For example, several
roads were built. Since farming was important
to Starkville, cotton was shipped by wagon to
place on the Flint River called Cotton Bluff
where it was loaded on barges (Ashton). When
the Southwestern Railroad opened the line to
Albany, the citizens of Starkville were hoping
the line would be very close to Starkville. In
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1857, the line was laid three miles from
Starkville, but this was a great disappointment
to the town. This was the beginning of the end
for Starkville (Roberts and Gibson 13). Once
the County seat was changed to Wooten Station
in 1872, several buildings were moved as well
as families relocated. For example, the
courthouse, the jail, the Masonic hall, and many
dwellings such as Tisons and Carters Stores,
the Love Hotel and old post office building were
moved to Leesburg (Ashton).
Today the only site that exists of Starkville is
the Starkville Cemetery. The wealthy were
buried at the top of the hill with marked
headstones. The remaining were buried along
the hillside in unmarked graves. The reason the
cemetery was located outside of the town
remains a mystery (Ashton). For historians and
visitors this cemetery is the only remains left to
learn more about the people and life of
Starkville.
Bradford Howard Cotten
Boy Scouts of America
Eagle Scout Project
Troop 414, Deerfield-Windsor School
September 30, 2000
12
Works Cited
Ashton, R. L. Memory of a Ghost Town.
The Albany Herald.
Georgia Historical Records Survey. Inventory
of the County Archives of Georgia. Vol. I
Historical Sketch No. 88 Lee County
('Leesburg). Atlanta: Work Projects
Administration. 1942.
Lee County Historical Society. History of Lee
County. Georgia. Atlanta: W H Wolfe
Associates. 1983.
Love, Tom. Story of Starksville. The Albany
Herald. 24 October 1942.
Murray, Delbert. Personal Interview. 2
September 2000.
Roberts, Curtis C. and Gibson, Rebecca. The
Leesburg Methodist Story 1874-1974.
Leesburg: Leesburg Methodist Church.
1974.
13

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The Starkville Cemetery
Directions: 3 miles northeast of
Leesburg on Highway 195. It is
adjacent to the Shady Grove
Missionary Baptist Church.
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Special Thanks to the following for helping me
on my Eagle Scout project - The Starkville
Cemetery Cleanup and the historical pamphlet
(Starkvilles History 1832-1874)
Steve White
Special Thanks to the Financial Contributors
Albany Bank and Trust
Advertising With Lisa
Bobs Candies Inc.
Dr. Tom Hilsman
Dr. Howard J. Williams, Jr.
Hughey - Neuman, Inc.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
Southwest Georgia Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Wilhebe Farms
Boy Scouts of America Troop 414
Lee County Historical Society
Bennett Cotten
Mary Linda Cotten
Dixon Cotten
Dale Wilson
Delbert E. Murray
Susan Wilson
Michael Clark
Charlie Stoudenmire
Richard Harris
Taylor Jackson
Mark Mitchell
Richard Sakombut
Langford Holbrook
Steve Ellis
Matthew White
David Miller
Dick Neff
Brad Johnson
Jimmy Jeemer
Chris Hicks
Eugene Walker
Dave Hunt
Lynn Coleman
David Lyon
Ron Register
Lee Stanley
Brenda Murphy
Sharon Presley
Carolyn Smith
Taylor Prchal
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