Sentimental for Starkville

Starkville, Mississippi, has a sweet spot in my heart.

From sixth grade to eleventh grade (I graduated a year early), I rode with my mother the one hour to Starkville Academy and the one hour back from school every day.  She traveled the same Highway 82 every work day for 18 years!

My two uncles graduated from Mississippi State. I graduated from MSU in 1983.

Back in 1969, Mama wrote the grants and set up the Library Science Department at Mississippi State University. Then she taught many, many students for those 18 years. Sadly, after Mama retired, the Library Science Depart -ment closed down within a few years. 

By the way, "Library Science" means teaching people how to be librarians. There is a great need for good librarians in this Infor -mation Age in which we live. And, for those who don't know, Mississippi State University is the largest University in Mississippi with a heavy footprint in research and continuing education for businesses in the state.

Starkville, as the home for the professors, scientists, professionals that keep MSU running and growing, is quite a vibrant, bubbling cauldron of learning... continuing education... activities, ideas and standards brought from other university communities.

Daddy wanted to learn to make jewelry... lost wax casting... so he audited some courses at Mississippi State, and Mama and I have the few pieces he was able to make before his health declined.  I can't even begin to explain how precious those few pieces are to us!

Starkville started as a lumber town. It was dubbed "Board -town" because of the board sidewalks in the town.

The Greensboro Street Historic District in Starkville is an idyllic little street. I love the variety of architecture. This is no cookie cutter subdivision. 

These are the type of houses one might dream of finding somewhere in need of love, fixing it up with one's spouse, filling it with children and a lifetime of memories.

As early as 1860, homes of the movers and shakers in Starkville were built along the Old Greensboro Road that stretched from the rough-and-tumble early Mississippi community of Greensboro to Columbus.

From the hustle and bustle of cotton wagons along the old road to the quiet little historic district of today, the old road evolved as Starkville has evolved.

The picture of the bell and base of a column is all that is left of the old Oktibbeha County Courthouse (1901-1964). 

Finding a picture of the old courthouse is NOT easy! I've not even found an old postcard! This image is the best I could do this afternoon.

Now I am curious what the pre-1901 Courthouse(s) looked like! It grieves me to see how many counties tear down historic old buildings on a whim. *sigh*
      
The "Jacobethan-style" former middle school is now the Greensboro Center, the headquarters of the Starkville School District.