The area of Butler County that came to be known as Starlington began when Benjamin Parker settled there in 1820. He was followed by settlers Phillip Coleman in 1821, and Joe Ainsworth, Joel Ellis and Elijah Hobbs followed. When cut through the timberland, the Old Sparta Road passed through the center of the community in 1825. A road to Cleburne was made a public roadway about 1832. The became the crossroads which was known is the center of the community.

Benjamin Parker's son, Starling opened a mercantile store in Starlington in 1830. It was not located at the crossroads, but about a mile south of it near where the present Starlington Baptist Church stands. It was for Starling Parker that the community of Starlington was named.

It seems that an arguement between Granville Parker and Graves Ellis took place at the original store. During the arguement, Ellis was struck by Granville with a piece of scantling, killing him instantly. This was in 1833. In 1836 the store was moved to a location near the church. A man named Sims operated it for several years. He sold it to Jim Page, who in turn sold it to Jackson Allen about 1860. It was closed shortly after the civil war began and was never reopened.

Supposedly a hurricane roared through the southern portion of the Starlington community in either 1836 or 1837. The damage was extensive, leveling houses and barns, taking down fences and chopping down trees. After it had passed, no tree of any size remained.

The community saw a need for a Methodist Church. The Leander Stinson family lived north of the crossroads. His son, Rev. James Leander Stinson, a circuit riding preacher, donated the land for a church and a cemetery. Providence Methodist Church was built on the site and still remains active today. County Road 15 now divides the land on which the church and cemetery stand. The old Stinson homeplace is currently owned by Simon Stinson, Leander Stinson's great-great grandson. The log house in which Simon (b. 1917) and his siblings were born fell to the ground two years ago. Simon still resides on the original Stinson homeplace.

Not much remains in the Starlington community. The school that once stood near the intersection of Hwy 15 and Hwy 106 vanished long ago. Two churches and a couple of cemeteries are about all that remain of the community.