Kirbyville, Town of, Site of Town Lot Auction

Kirbyville began as a railroad town. The Handbook of Texas says R. P. Allen of Galveston laid it out as the track arrived, the first lots sold on May 1, 1895, and a post office opened that year, with the name Kirbyville chosen to avoid confusion with another Kirby. By 1896 it had 300 residents, four general stores and a hotel. Kirby sold his railroad to the Santa Fe in 1900 and formed the Kirby Lumber Company in 1901, making Kirbyville a company town. After 1904 it was the Texas terminus of the Jasper and Eastern.

What the plaque says

Kirbyville, Town of, Site of Town Lot Auction (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. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Martin Dies, Jr. State Park — 23 mi
  A 705-acre state park on Steinhagen Reservoir at the meeting of the Neches and Angelina rivers, with about 14 miles of paddling trails through sloughs and more than 200 campsites.

More markers nearby

• Early Kirbyville Schools — 0.3 mi
• Biloxi Community — 7.2 mi
• Swift Cemetery — 8.2 mi
• Pinetucky — 9.2 mi