Historic Sites

Overstreet School Historic District

The Overstreet School Historic District is significant to Starkville and Oktibbeha County because it is an important physical expression of the growth and development of Starkville during the period 1870 to 1940, when Starkville changed from a small courthouse village with an agricultural economy to one of Mississippi's major educational and industrial centers. Additionally, the district is locally significant for its architecture, which represents the tastes of the business and professional class that created the modern town following the Civil War. It is the largest concentration of late nineteenth and early twentieth century residential architecture in the county and includes examples of Colonial Revival, Queen Anne, Victorian Vernacular, and Craftsman styles. The period of significance of the neighborhood begins in 1870, when the first houses in the area are know to have been standing (although some may have been built before this date) and ends in 1940, somewhat of a watershed for the architectural character of the area.

The Starkville School District built a school on the site of the current Overstreet School in 1897 that served the children of the community in grades First through Fourth. In 1949, the firm of Johnson and Jones substantially renovated the school into the current art moderne style. Many people ask about the Indian motif on the building. Although it is not attributed to a particular Native American, architect Tom Jones said the design was intended to honor the early residents of Oktibbeha County. After the renovation, the school was renamed Overstreet School in honor of John William Overstreet, who lived at 406 Greensboro Street in the Greensboro Street National Register District, Superintendent of Starkville Public Schools 1933-1951. His portrait hangs in Overstreet School today.