Discover Starkville: Museums, Campus and Walking Tours

When choosing where to stay in Starkville, your interests can help you decide: the city combines self-guided walking tours with campus tours, theater and a variety of collections. Offerings range from local history and nature to archaeology, music and geology. You can plan your trip around the subjects you’d like to explore during your stay.

Explore the City and Campus

Starkville offers self-guided city walks featuring street murals, local history, boutiques and dining spots. The themes give the walks different focuses, so you can choose whether you’re more interested in public art, history, or the shops and dining spots mentioned.

The Campus Tree Trail is located at the center of the Mississippi State University campus in Starkville. You can explore it on a walk across campus. Another way to learn about the campus and its history is to take a guided tour with the student Maroon VIP guides. In Starkville, they lead campus, historical and children’s tours for visitors.

Starkville Community Theatre may also factor into your plans: it is home to Playhouse on Main and is presenting its 49th season for 2026–2027. If you’d like to include a performance in your stay, check individual show dates before your trip.

Collections and Culture

The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library holds 15,000 linear feet of correspondence, research notes, published monographs, artifacts, photographs, scrapbooks and memorabilia. The materials cover the 18th President of the United States, ranging in subject from his early life to his achievements in the Civil War and his presidency.

The Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum of Archaeology preserves more than 5,000 objects from around the world, with a focus on the Middle East and the southeastern United States. The Cullis & Gladys Wade Clock Museum displays more than 400 clocks and pocket watches, mostly American, whose history dates back to the early 18th century. The two collections offer different historical perspectives, from archaeological objects from several regions to the history of American timepieces.

The John Grisham Room is on the third floor of Mitchell Memorial Library and serves as an exhibit space and a venue for special events. The Charles H. Templeton, Sr. Music Museum displays a collection of 200 instruments, 13,000 pieces of music and 15,000 sheet-music pages from the Ragtime era. Those interested in music will find a different way to connect with the past here than in the history and archaeology collections.

The Mississippi Entomological Museum houses more than three million insect specimens. The Dunn-Seiler Geology Museum features rocks, fossils and other geological objects, including a Triceratops skull. At selected times during the semester, the museum offers 30-minute tours for groups of no more than 30 people. As tour times depend on the semester, confirm availability before your visit.

The Cobb Museum has been closed indefinitely since the Labor Day weekend floods of 2023 and is not currently offering tours. If you’re considering a visit, check the latest visitor information before making plans.

Outdoor Spaces and Local History

McKee Park is another possible stop if you’d like to spend time outdoors during your stay. The city describes the redesigned park as having 60,000 square feet of recreational space and three ADA-compliant playgrounds. These details give a concrete sense of the size of the recreational area and the playgrounds available.

Another historical landmark is the former Starkville High School (II) building at 401 Greensboro Street. It was built in 1927 as Starkville High School. Along with the historic city walks and guided tours, this site offers a glimpse into different aspects of local history.

Discover more destinations: Mississippi State University.

For the broader travel overview: Oktibbeha County.