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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. 
2 
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 
5 
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 
10 
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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14 
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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