Kirbyville was named for John Henry Kirby, an 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 the city has also been the terminus of the Jasper & Eastern Railroad. A major business, the Kirby Lumber Co. sawmill, acquired in 1903, burned in 1917. Since 1926 the city has been an area of timber conservation work, and State Forest No. 1 is located 3 miles east. Today the city is a trade center for Jasper and Newton counties and has electric power concerns.