*originally appeared in About Covington to Madison magazine.
Starrsville, GA
Howdy
folks! Hope everything is going everybody’s way. I’m glad so many folks
enjoyed the last column on the “lost towns” of our area. It really is
fascinating stuff! And a special thanks to the Mansfield Garden Club for inviting
me to speak to their organization about that and other local history. I
had a wonderful time and really enjoyed talking with you wonderful
ladies. This month—the long-awaited write-up on Starrsville.
Starrsville, GA
Approximately 6 miles southeast of Covington
, Starrsville is one of the oldest communities in Newton Co.
Originally settled in the early 1820’s by the Starr family, it would
become a full-fledged community by the early 1830’s with a general
store, a church, several farms, and a post office. It was situated at
the intersection of Dixie Rd. and what we now call Hwy. 213. The
centerpiece of this village was the Starr Store Building that was
originally run by George Leak and John Starr. It would later be known
as King’s Grocery. That building no longer stands but a historical
marker can be found at the site that gives more information. The
aforementioned
church, Starrsville Methodist, is one of the area’s oldest churches as
has been a pillar of this community for upwards of 180 years. This area would come to be known as Old Starrsville. More on that in just a bit…
As was mentioned in the Hayston
column, when the C of G (Central of Georgia) ran the RR tracks, some
towns were created ( Mansfield ) but some locations were picked because
there was an existing village (Hayston). Starrsville was an instance of
the latter with a bit of the former. Originally, the tracks were going
to be brought right through the heart of Starrsville by the general
store, but these plans were changed. I read in one resource that it was
changed to go further
north based on a decision by the C or G presumably based on
cost-analysis or feasibility. But in doing a bit more research, I’ve
discovered that possibly
the residents of Starrsville at the time did not want the tracks and
that’s why it was moved. Regardless, the line was moved and so a new
village sprouted up in the 1890’s and was called New Starrsville. Old
and New Starrsville remained intertwined as a community.
