Peach Tree Village - Texas Ghost Town

PEACH TREE VILLAGE

NAME: Peach Tree Village
COUNTY: Tyler
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 4
CLIMATE: Warm winter, hot summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT:Winter, spring, fall

COMMENTS: Current residents, a memorial.
REMAINS: The chapel.

Although classified as a ghost town, Peach Tree Village is more a memorial from a son to his parents. In 1853, the community had sufficient population that it was granted a post office under the name of Peach Tree Village. Its most famous citizen was born there in 1860. His name was John Henry Kirby. Kirby earned a law degree and a reputation by representing lumber companies in court litigation. He invested in East Texas timberland, built a railroad and founded the Kirby Lumber Company. The company owned thousands of acres of timber, operated saw mills and logging camps, and employed 16,000 men. He also served the state of Texas as a legislator. Known primarily as a lumberman, Kirby disdained the usual lifestyle of an industrial magnate preferring the quite atmosphere of the town in which he was born. He built a rural home for his parents in Peach Tree Village and it was there he retreated for solitude. A local schoolteacher was quoted as saying "he worshiped his father and mother and loved the village greatly." In 1912, three years after the death of his father, lumberman Kirby erected a beautiful brick chapel in the town in honor of his parents. John Henry Kirby joined his parents in 1940. The memorial chapel is maintained by the citizens of Tyler County. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

Although classified as a ghost town, Peach Tree Village is more a memorial from a son to his parents. In 1853, the community had sufficient population that it was granted a post office under the name of Peach Tree Village. Its most famous citizen was born there in 1860. His name was John Henry Kirby. Kirby earned a law degree and a reputation by representing lumber companies in court litigation. He invested in East Texas timberland, built a railroad and founded the Kirby Lumber Company. The company owned thousands of acres of timber, operated saw mills and logging camps, and employed 16,000 men. He also served the state of Texas as a legislator. Known primarily as a lumberman, Kirby disdained the usual lifestyle of an industrial magnate preferring the quite atmosphere of the town in which he was born. He built a rural home for his parents in Peach Tree Village and it was there he retreated for solitude. A local schoolteacher was quoted as saying "he worshiped his father and mother and loved the village greatly." In 1912, three years after the death of his father, lumberman Kirby erected a beautiful brick chapel in the town in honor of his parents. John Henry Kirby joined his parents in 1940. The memorial chapel is maintained by the citizens of Tyler County. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

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