1830Military
=== Early 19th century ===
The modern European-American settlement of the Starkville area was started after the Choctaw inhabitants of Oktibbeha County surrendered their claims ...
1831Military
Founded in 1831, the city was originally known as Boardtown for the local sawmilling operation there, but was renamed in 1837 to honor American Revolutionary War general John St...
1834Economy
A mill on the Big Black River southwest of town produced clapboards, giving the town its original name, Boardtown in 1834.
1835Military
In 1835, when Boardtown was established as the county seat of Oktibbeha County, it was renamed as Starkville in honor of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark.
1847Government
The first newspaper was founded in 1847.
1865Architecture
=== 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 b...
1875Disaster
In 1875 a fire destroyed 52 buildings.
1878Government
Starkville is adjacent to and closely associated with Mississippi State University, which was founded as the state's flagship land-grant research university in 1878.
1879Infrastructure
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 th...
1888History
In 1888, a mob hanged an African-American man, Eli Bryant, for an alleged attack on a white woman.
1889History
Early banks included The Peoples Bank in 1889 and Security State Bank in 1896.
1891Government
Several newspapers were founded in this time period, including The Starkville News in 1891.
1898Culture
A yellow fever epidemic in 1898 resulted in a quarantine of Starkville's railroads by the towns of West Point, Columbus, Artesia and Kosciusko.
1912Government
In 1912, the co-operative creamery was created, and in 1926 the Borden Condensary was established.
1915History
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 san...
1922History
In 1922, Starkville was the site of a large rally of the Ku Klux Klan.
1926Government
In 1926 the Borden Condensery was established, the first condensery in the southern U.S.
1961History
Tee Ball was popularized in Starkville in 1961 by W.W.
1965Crime
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.
1969Government
It was founded in 1969 by Dan Camp, who was the developer, owner and property manager of much of the area.
1970Civil Rights
In 1970, several Black organizations organized a boycott or selective buying campaign.
2006Civil Rights
=== 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.
2007History
As of October 2007, approximately half (49.74%) of the residents of Starkville claim a religious affiliation; most are Christian.
2010History
=== 2010 census ===
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 23,888 people, 9,845 households, and 4,800 families residing in the city.
2014History
In 2014, Gordon Ramsay visited the Hotel Chester in his series Hotel Hell in a successful attempt to help the struggling hotel remain in business.
2015Education
Until 2015, Starkville and much of the surrounding area was served by the Starkville School District (SSD) while Oktibbeha County was served by Oktibbeha County School District ...
2017Government
Since 2017 the mayor has been Lynn Spruill, a Democrat and the first female mayor elected in Starkville's history.
2018History
In February 2018, Starkville denied a local LGBTQ organization a permit to host a pride parade.
2020History
Starkville is the largest city in the Golden Triangle, which had a population of 175,474 in 2020, and the principal city of the Starkville–Columbus, MS CSA.