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is a city in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of 2008, the city population was 24,000. It is the county seat of Oktibbeha County.
Starkville, also known as "Starkvegas" or "Starkpatch" is considered the Crowned Jewel of the Golden Triangle region of northeast Mississippi which consists of Starkville, Columbus, and West Point.
The campus of Mississippi State University is located adjacent to the east of Starkville. As of the fall of 2008, MSU is the state of Mississippi's largest university with 17,824 undergraduates, more than 4,000 graduate students, and more than 1,300 staff. The university is also the largest employer of Starkville and dominates the city's economy. Students have created a ready audience for the Magnolia Film Festival. Held every February, it is the oldest film festival in the state. Other major events held in Starkville and heavily supported by the MSU Student Body are the Dudy Gras Parade, Cotton District Arts Festival, Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival, Old Main Music Festival, Ragtime Music Festival, and Bulldog Bash.
The Starkville area has been inhabited for over 2100 years. Artifacts in the form of clay pot fragments and artwork dating from that time period have been found east of Starkville at the Herman Mound and Village site, a National Historic Registered site located adjacent to Indian Mound Campground where a display of pottery, arrowheads and information is found. The modern early settlement of the Starkville area was started after the Choctaw inhabitants of Oktibbeha County surrendered their claims to land in the area in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. White settlers were drawn to the Starkville area because of two large springs. A mill southwest of town provided clapboards which gave the town its original name, Boardtown. In 1835, Boardtown was established as the county seat of Oktibbeha County and its name was changed to Starkville in honor of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark.
On March 21 2006, Starkville became the first city in Mississippi to adopt a smoking ban for indoor public places, including restaurants and bars. This ordinance went into effect on May 20 2006.