Kerby was pretty much Kerby by 1850 with a population of around 500 which it never exceeded. The mining of gold was its principal mineral although it had some success with others such as quicksilver, iron, cobalt and ilmenite. The town still has a few buildings standing and maybe a resident or two. In it heyday years ago, the courthouse stood in the shade of a huge oak tree which still stands. Convicted prisoners were removed from the courthouse, hustled outside and hung. No waiting. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenowith

Kirby still has many residents. The only remaining “original” buildings are a grange building built in 1889, the old school house and a miners cabin and a house built in 1871 by the Naucke family who owned the general store. The hanging tree mentioned in previous writing became rotten and fell in 1964 according to museum staff.

The school house was moved to its current location next to the Kirbyville museum in the hope of preserving it. The old miners cabin also on the museum property was built in 1834 and moved to its current location in 1982 by a local construction company also to preserve it.

The museum in Kirby is worth seeing and has many items from the period and town as well as military memorabilia. The Naucke house is also open and is well worth seeing. The museum fee is quite modest and the staff very knowledgeable.

The white house with green trim is the Naucke Family home, The other buildings shown are the school house and miners cabin. Submitted by Doug and Barbara Renfrow