Butler County, Alabama - Chapter 34, 1885

Philip Coleman located on Long Creek about 1821, and was soon followed by Joe Ainsworth, Joel Ellis and Elijah Hobbs, all coming from Mississippi. Coleman lived in what is now known as the Bennett neighborhood, about three miles south of Starlington. The old Sparta Road was cut through this place about 1825. The road to Cleburne was made public about 1832. Benjamin Parker moved his family here in 1820, and his son began a small mercantile business here in 1830. The place was named for Benjamin Parker's son, Starling Parker, he being the most business-like and intelligent person in the settlement at that time. The first store was not at the crossroads, but was about one mile south of where the church is now. There was one murder committed at this place in 1833. There was a misunderstanding between Granville Parker and Graves Ellis ; the former struck the latter on the head with a piece of scantling and killed him almost instantly. No other person was ever killed at this place. The store was moved up to the church about 1836. A man by the name of Sims kept it for some time, afterwards selling out to Jim Page. The latter sold to Jackson Allen about i860. There has been no store here since the war. It is not known exactly when the churcH was put here. Starlington never was much of a place - nothing more than a cross-road. The land here is of a yellowish, sandy nature, and does not produce well unless highly fertihzed ; yet those living here seem to be doing about as well as they do in any other part of the county. The schools here are very poor, and the houses are not at all comfortable. There has been some wealth here, but very little here now. A great many negroes have bought land in this neighborhood and seem to be doing very well. The land is very cheap here, being bought for ;^i.50 per acre. The land is well timbered, the pine forests extending for miles on every side. In April, 1836 or 1837, a hurricane passed through the southern part of the Starlington neighborhood and did a great deal of damage in the way of blowing down houses, fences and trees, killing stock and people. No tree of any size was left standing in its path. It passed on in an easterly direction, and marks of its destructive path are found in South Butler and in Oaky Streak. It passed a little north of these places, and was even more destructive in Oaky Streak than anywhere else in the county.