diff --git a/CHANGES.txt b/CHANGES.txt
index 0a513addc5..46b1505a1c 100644
--- a/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/CHANGES.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 3.0
+ * Don't start Thrift rpc by default (CASSANDRA-9319)
  * Only stream from unrepaired sstables with incremental repair (CASSANDRA-8267)
  * Aggregate UDFs allow SFUNC return type to differ from STYPE if FFUNC specified (CASSANDRA-9321)
  * Failure detector detects and ignores local pauses (CASSANDRA-9183)
diff --git a/NEWS.txt b/NEWS.txt
index 32351a1d72..1358c35d35 100644
--- a/NEWS.txt
+++ b/NEWS.txt
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ New features
 
 Upgrading
 ---------
+   - Thrift rpc is no longer being started by default.
+     Set `start_rpc` parameter to `true` to enable it.
    - Pig's CqlStorage has been removed, use CqlNativeStorage instead
    - Pig's CassandraStorage has been deprecated. CassandraStorage
      should only be used against tables created via thrift.
diff --git a/conf/cassandra.yaml b/conf/cassandra.yaml
index 3bcef06b94..5033a8d425 100644
--- a/conf/cassandra.yaml
+++ b/conf/cassandra.yaml
@@ -458,7 +458,7 @@ native_transport_port: 9042
 # native_transport_max_concurrent_connections_per_ip: -1
 
 # Whether to start the thrift rpc server.
-start_rpc: true
+start_rpc: false
 
 # The address or interface to bind the Thrift RPC service and native transport
 # server to.
diff --git a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java
index c6131f54dd..7d7ef011da 100644
--- a/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java
+++ b/src/java/org/apache/cassandra/config/Config.java
@@ -114,6 +114,8 @@ public class Config
     public String broadcast_address;
     public String internode_authenticator;
 
+    /* intentionally left set to true, despite being set to false in stock 2.2 cassandra.yaml
+       we don't want to surprise Thrift users who have the setting blank in the yaml during 2.1->2.2 upgrade */
     public Boolean start_rpc = true;
     public String rpc_address;
     public String rpc_interface;