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Our story starts around 1883.  During this time, there were few people settled in the southwestern part of Oktibbeha County.  The first settlement was the village of Whitefield on land formerly owned by Lewis White.

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A Mr. Smith also owned much of the land in the area, as well as J.P. Woodson, who lived west of Whitefield.  Near the Big Creek Methodist Church two newcomers to the area, Lige Ray and Dr. Cotton planned to build a church.  With the help of Mr. Smith, who was a minister, Wake Forest Baptist Church was established about 1840.  Wake Forest is located about one mile north of Sturgis and is one of the oldest active churches in the community.

 

Other early settlers included Dr. Davis, Robert Quinn, the Sikes brothers, Henry G., Andy, Richard and Smith, Dan Thomas, Newton Daniel, Felix Shropshire and John Oswalt.  George D. Morgan came from North Carolina in 1845, served in the Civil War and settled around Sturgis.  The Hunt brothers, Pilot, John an McDuff came from Greenville, SC.  Fred Sharp served in the Civil War and lived in Whitefield before moving to the area southeast of Sturgis.

 

In 1884, the business enterprises of Whitefield included the workshop of Joe Cain, the grist mill of Dr. Joe Walker, the dental office and general store of Dr. Bill Edwards; the dry goods and grocery store of Will Neal and Jeff Farron; the post office and general store of Dr. W.J. Barron with apothecary supplies in the back and the Masonic Hall above; and the general store of Abb Harrison.  Physicians in the area included J.W. Edwards, a Civil War veteran, and Dr. R.K. Prewitt.

 

In 1883-1885, the Illinois Central Railroad obtained the rights to operate near Whitefield.  One of the stockholders, a wealthy Mrs. Sturgis from Kentucky, asked that the town be named in her honor.  It was done, but the promised funds never came.  Nonetheless, the town of Sturgis was born.  New businesses were established closer to the depot and the Whitefield business center and post office disappeared.  The Aberdeen-Durant branch of the I.C. Railroad was born.

 

There were quite a few businesses in town.  Some were the general store of the Fondren Brothers, Jim Quinn, Jeff and Zeke Barron, Dave and Bill Hunt, Abb Harrison and Semmie Oswalt, Dr. Bill Edwards' dry goods store and W.J. Barron's drug store and Masonic Lodge.  Mr. Jim Smith ran a boarding house and blacksmith shop.  The brothers Glaceran from Jackson, MS established one of the largest stores in town.  One brother, G.E. Galceran was a long-time mayor.

 

Sturgis even had two newspapers. In 1884, Henry H. Sikes edited "The Sturgis Record" that lasted about two years.  In 1909, Osie F. Turner established "The Search Light" which ran about a year.  J.S. Foreshand published the "Sturgis Enterprise" for a few months in 1916. 

 

Sturgis also had some bad luck throughout the years.  On March 30, 1884 a horrific cyclone destroyed much of the property in the area, one of which was the Presbyterian Church which was rebuilt a year later.  In 1903, a fire left only one business standing, that of Dave E. Rainey.  Modern facilities were then added and more businesses came to town.   In November 1918 and in January 1919 two large and frightening influenza epidemics broke out.  Then, in 1925, fire consumed the town once again and left the landscape bare.  The frame buildings were then replaced with brick.

 

Merchants at the turn of the 20th century included Miss Eliza Hunt, S.P. Morgan, J.B. Drane, J.A. McKinnon, Tom Shropshire, A.L. Livingston, Coy N. Sharp, Miss Cain Hannah, W.F. Gore, H.B. Chandler and A.V. Frazier.  There was also E. Turner's blacksmith shop, Roy Hunt's barber shop, and a garage and filling station of Melbourne Edwards, M. Smith, J.H. Alexander and R.C. Belk.  The telephone exchange was operated by Mrs. Jim Kolb.   A.V. Frazier also had a cream station and grist mill.  Mrs. Tommie A. Hamill was the postmaster and Marshall Barron and Mart Ray were the mail carriers.

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History compiled by residents of the Town of Sturgis.