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KIRBY, TEXAS
Bexar County, South
Texas
29° 27' 40" N, 98° 23' 20" W (29.461111, -98.388889)
Farm Road 78
8 miles NE of San Antonio
the county seat
ZIP code 78219
Area code 210
Population: 8,723 Est. (2019)
8,000 (2010) 8,673 (2000) 8,326 (1990)
Kirby, Texas Area Hotels ›
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History in
a Pecan Shell
by Clint
Skinner
Located on Farm Road 78 in the eastern section of Bexar
County, Kirby stands eight miles northeast of San
Antonio, three miles east of Fort Sam Houston Joint Case, and
eight miles west of Randolph Air Force Base. Its total area covers
two square miles.
The town's history began in 1877 when the Galveston, Harrisburg and
San Antonio Railway built a station in the area. This company was
actually a part of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Construction began
around 1890 and settlers soon followed. By 1900, the town had a cotton
gin and blacksmith shop in addition to its one hundred inhabitants.
During the first decade of the new century, German immigrants settled
on the land.
A post office opened in 1907, prompting the citizens to give their
home a name. They decided upon Kirby to honor a South Carolinian who
used the trees of his Texas property to produce wooden ties for the
construction of the railroad. The office closed its doors in 1916
and forced residents to send their mail to the city of Converse.
(See Kirby 1909 postmark)
The population reached eighteen people in 1920, the majority of them
being German farmers. Ten years later, that figure rose to twenty-five.
The town had six businesses, which decreased by two in 1940. Thanks
to the construction of Randolph Air Force Base, Kirby's population
skyrocketed to six hundred during the 1950s.
Kirby was incorporated in 1955 with a council-manager government established
by its home rule charter. The year of 1957 brought a two-year drought
which devastated the farming community, forcing many families to sell
their land and move elsewhere. The city bought the land and developed
it into suburban neighborhoods. The population reached 680 in 1965
and exploded past the triple digits with the help of San
Antonio's growth. In 1990, the city had 8,326 people, which increased
to 8,673 at the turn of the century.
The city of Kirby has a current population of 8,000. The educational
system is served by the Judson Independent School District. Although
Kirby has its own water supply, the San Antonio Water System handles
the wastewater treatment. Republic Services deals with waste and recycling
while CPS Energy handles natural gas and electricity.
Sources:
Kirbytx.org
Tshaonline.org
Wikipedia |
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Bexar
County 1920s map showing Kirby (NE of San
Antonio) on the RR
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
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