Kirbyville, Town of, Site of Town Lot Auction

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the town of Kirbyville and the site of its very first lot auction. Now settle in, because this story starts with a name, a railroad, and a whole lot of timber. The date on that marker is May 1, 1895, and that's the day this town came into being, right here where the Gulf, Beaumont, and Kansas City Railroad reached this particular point on the map.

Two men made it happen: John Henry Kirby and his partner R. P. Allen.

Together, they founded the town, and they named it for Kirby himself, a man who wore a remarkable number of hats. Attorney. Railroad builder.

And a king, the marker calls him, of timber, lumber, and oil. That's not a résumé, that's a legend in three lines. Now, the Gulf, Beaumont, and Kansas City was the railroad that put Kirbyville on the map, but the town didn't stop there.

By 1904, it had also become the terminus of the Jasper and Eastern Railroad. Two railroads rolling into one town. That's the kind of thing that puts a place on a very different kind of footing.

And with those railroads came business, real business. The Kirby Lumber Company Sawmill was a major one, acquired in 1903, and for years it was a cornerstone of everything happening in this corner of East Texas. Then came 1917.

The sawmill burned. Just like that, one of the town's great engines was gone. But Kirbyville didn't fold.

Starting in 1926, the city became an area of timber conservation work, which tells you something about how this part of Texas thinks about its trees. State Forest No. 1 sits just three miles east of here, and that's not a coincidence, that's a community that learned something and acted on it. Today Kirbyville serves as a trade center for both Jasper and Newton counties, with electric power concerns among its working institutions.

One town. Two railroads. A lumber king's name on the sign.

And deep East Texas forest all around it, still standing.

What the marker says

(May 1, 1895) Named for John Henry Kirby, attorney, railroad builder, and timber, lumber, and oil king. With R. P. Allen, Kirby founded the town when their railroad-- Gulf, Beaumont, & Kansas City-- reached this point. Since 1904 city has also been terminus of the Jasper & Eastern Railroad. A major business, Kirby Lumber Co. Sawmill (acquired in 1903), burned in 1917. City has been an area of timber conservation work since 1926; State Forest No. 1 is located 3 miles east. Today city is a trade center for Jasper and Newton counties and has electric power concerns.