The First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County Oktibbeha County FORUM Lee P. Beck

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County 23 December 1833 Division of Choctaw land Greater area than the current county boundaries Mimics the original shape

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County Hebron 1835 Starkville Significant land transaction

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County Robert A. Lampkin and William B. Cushman –1834 –25 acres –Board of Police Elijah Hogan –$10, acres sold VS same quality farmland –$400/acre –$2 - $3/acre

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County Initial sale of town lots –Storefronts on Main Street –Churches –Masonic Lodge Price variance –East vs West

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County Starkville Real Estate and Banking Company –Robert A. Lampkin, President –Lasted only a few years –Printed its own currency Limited its financial influence

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County State of Mississippi grants town charter –1837 –David Ames –Original Board of Aldermen Elijah Hogan Robert A. Lampkin

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County Looking back with a critical eye –Possible questions of greed and corruption Land speculators who were also county officials –Two hundred times the cost per acre of land than elsewhere in the county –These particular individuals went on to become first postmaster, members of the first board of aldermen, officers of first bank as well as prominent businessmen.

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County Better way of interpreting the intentions –Consider the legacy left rather than their apparent personal gain. –Lampkin, Hogan, and Cushman realized the potential of the acreage that became Starkville. Elevated Abundant water supply

First Years of Starkville and Oktibbeha County The careful thought and planning that accompanied the individual financial gain of the original planners of Starkville has left a town grid that one hundred and seventy-two years after it was developed still functions as the principle business, financial, and judicial heart of the town.