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STARRVILLE,
TEXASSmith
County, East Texas
FM 757 and FM 16
3 Miles SE of Winona
17
Miles NE of Tyler
1 Mile NE of Starrville Mountain
Population:
00075 (2000) Starrville,
Texas Area Hotels
Tyler
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History in a Pecan
Shell
Starrville
had been a stop on the stage line of the Dallas-Shreveport Road in 1849 when its
post office was known as Gum Springs. The change of name came about a few
years later (1857) when former Alabaman (the Reverend) Joshua Starr bought an
entire section of land here.
The Starrville Methodist Church was built
in 1853 and in 1859 the Baptist’s built theirs. The Starrville Female High School
was organized in 1856 followed by a male high school and gender segregated colleges.
Starrville remained on the stage line to Tyler
and was thriving. Beside the essential businesses, the town had second-tier businesses
like a wagon maker, foundries and sawmills.
Starrville’s male and female
high schools were merged to form the Union Academy in 1860. While hundreds of
Texas towns were bypassed by railroads
in the 19th century, Starrville was one of the few that refused the railroad
(in this case it was the Tyler Tap Railroad) to build through their town.
It was proven an unwise decision when the new rail town of Winona
sprang up, draining residents from Starrville.
The population in 1892
was still a respectable 200 residents and the community enjoyed the protection
of two constables and a justice of the peace. The population decreased to 122
and in 1907 both the post office and Masonic Lodge moved to Winona.
By the mid 1930s, Starrville’s decline was hard to conceal, maps showed only a
cemetery, scattered houses and a single business.
The population was just
100 for the 1950 census and in 1952 Starrville’s school merged with the Gladewater
District for a time before consolidating permanently with Winona’s
system.
In the early 1970s, Starrville’s population had reached 75 residents
– the same number given for 1990 and 2000.
Starrville
Historical Marker
Sunday Drive -
From Tyler Through Starrville |
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Historical
Marker TexasStarrville
CommunityIn 1852
the Rev. Joshua Starr, a Methodist minister from Alabama, bought 640 acres of
land here on the Dallas-Shreveport Road. Platting Starrville, one of the earliest
towns in Smith County, he sold lots with deed covenants against gambling and liquor.
In 1853 he helped organize Starr Lodge No. 118, A. F. & A. M.; Methodists and
Masons shared a 2-story building which the church bought from Starr in 1854. The
post office was moved from nearby Gum Spring to Starrville in 1857. The town thrived
with stores and overnight lodgings for freighters. It had grist mills, sawmills,
foundries, and a wagon factory; music teachers, dentists, physicians, photographers.
Its churches and schools were highly influential. The Methodists supported a female
high school; the Baptists founded Ann Judson Female School. A Union academy, male
high school, and female college also existed before the Civil War (1861-65).
Bypassing
of Starrville by the Tyler Tap Railroad in the 1870s brought population losses.
In 1907 the post office and the Masonic Lodge were removed to Winona.
The schools of Starrville and Baker Springs were consolidated in 1924, and later
were merged with the Winona public school system.
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By
Bob Bowman
"... When you leave Tyler,
continue your Sunday
Drive by heading north on Farm Road 14, which will carry you to Tyler State
Park, a jewel of a recreational area carved from the pine forests. The park offers
facilities for swimming, historical intrepetration, camping and picnicking.
From the Tyler
State Park, continue north on 14 until the road intersections with Farm Road 16.
Start south on 16 until you reach the community of Winona,
which was settled in the early l840s and named for Winona Douglas, the daughter
of a prominent businessman.
At Winona, continue on 16 to the old town of Starrville,
once an important overnight stop for stagecoaches and freight haulers, as well
as a crucial manufacturing community. In l869, Starrville had the Texas Fair,
said by some sources to have been the first state fair in Texas. From
Starrville, turn south on Farm Road 757 until you intersect with Farm Road
345 west of Arp. Turn south on 345 until it turns
into 346 and follow the latter into Troup, a one-time
planters village that was developed as a railroad stop in the l870s.
From Troup, head back toward Tyler
on Texas 110..." more |
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