John Henry Kirby (November 16, 1860 – November 9, 1940) was a businessman whose ventures made him the largest

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

manufacturer in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and the Southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In addition to serving two terms in the Texas Legislature, he also established the Kirby Petroleum Company. With his successful reputation, he was known by his business peers as "The Prince of the Pines" and "The Father of Industrial Texas".

Kirbyville, Texas Kirbyville is a city in Jasper County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,036 at the 2020 census. History Early Development The town was first established in 1895 when the Gulf, Beaumont, and Kansas City railroad reached the site. It wa ...

Jasper County Jasper County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. All are named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, a hero of the Revolutionary War. Five counties share a boundary with a Newton County, named for John Newton John ...

is named after him, as is Kirby Drive and Upper Kirby in Houston.

Early life and political ties

He was born to John Thomas and Sarah (Payne) Kirby on November 16, 1860 in Tyler County, and brought up on the family's homestead which is no
Camp Ta-Ku-La
First taught to read and write by his mother, his formal education later on was limited to rural schools and one semester at

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

, Georgetown, where he studied law. With the influence of state senator

Samuel Bronson Cooper Samuel Bronson Cooper (May 30, 1850 – August 21, 1918) was a United States representative from Texas and a Member of the Board of General Appraisers. Education and career Born on May 30, 1850, near Eddyville in Caldwell County, Kentucky, ...

, he served as a clerk in the Texas Senate from 1882 to 1884.Handbook of Texas Online - KIRBY, JOHN HENRY
/ref> During his clerkship he married Lelia Stewart of Woodville. He practiced law for four years before moving to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

to join the law firm of Hobby and Lanier. In 1887, with Cooper's influence, Kirby provided legal services to a group of investors from Boston, Massachusetts. With their financial backing, the east Texas timberland was harvested for lumber under the name Texas Pine Land Association. This business alone provided Kirby with a small fortune. In 1893 he partnered with a lawyer named Nathaniel D. Silsbee, an investor from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. These two, along with an investor named Ellington Pratt, established the Gulf, Beaumont and Kansas City Railroad from Beaumont to

San Augustine San Augustine is the county seat city of San Augustine County, Texas, in East Texas, United States. The population was at the 2020 census. History The first European settlement in the area began in 1717 with the establishment of Mission Nuestra ...

. Upon the railroad's completion, Kirby sold it to the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

which extended its line to the new lumber processing site at Silsbee, the town named after the investor. The sale of the railroad yielded a high profit for Kirby. It was at this location in 1900 that the Kirby Lumber Company was established. This business became the largest lumber producer in the south, with Kirby controlling 300,000 acres (1200 km²) of timberland. At its peak between 1910 and 1920, it had some 16,500 employees and included twelve operating mills and five logging camps.

Business venture in oil

The following year, and after the discovery of oil at

Spindletop Spindletop is an oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas, in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindleto ...

, Kirby partnered with

Patrick Calhoun Patrick Calhoun (March 21, 1856 – June 16, 1943) was the grandson of John C. Calhoun and Floride Calhoun, and the great-grandson of his namesake Patrick Calhoun. He is best known as a railroad baron of the late 19th century, and as the found ...

of the Houston Oil Company of Texas. Kirby created an unusual business relationship between his lumber company and the oil entity: the Kirby Lumber Company gained timber rights onto extensive east Texas land, where as the Houston Oil Company gained land and maintained mineral rights. Several years later, legal problems arose because Kirby overestimated the value of the lumber, and the partners failed to clearly define ownership of certain land areas. The Kirby Lumber Company still continued to prosper despite court ordered receivership status for both companies. In 1902, Kirby took over the Higgins Oil and Fuel Company owned by

Pattillo Higgins Pattillo Higgins (December 5, 1863 – June 5, 1955) was an American businessman and a self-taught geologist. He earned the nickname the "Prophet of Spindletop" for his endeavors in the Texas oil business, which accrued a fortune for many. He part ...

for 3 million dollars. In 1921, Kirby established the Kirby Petroleum Company, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration company. In 1923, Kirby received an honorary law degree from Lincoln Memorial University. Due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, his lumber company suffered financial strain and fell into the hands of the

in 1933 due to bankruptcy. He remained president of the enterprise until his death on November 9, 1940.

Personal beliefs on labor movements

John Henry Kirby was considered a generous employer, but was also well known for his opposition to labor unions. He also saw

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

's plan for the working class a threat to American tradition. He even went as far as help co-found the Southern Committee to Uphold the Constitution in direct opposition to FDR’s

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

and contributed his money and energies to other anti-

and pro- segregation organizations.

John H. Kirby State Forest

In 1929, Kirby donated part of what is today the 626-acre (2.5 km²) John Henry Kirby State Forest, which is located in Tyler County in southeastern

.Handbook of Texas Online – JOHN HENRY KIRBY STATE FOREST
/ref>

Biographies

*''John Henry Kirby: Prince of the Pines'', by Mary Lasswell Smith (1967)

References

External links

*
Kirby Corporation website with historical information
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, John Henry 1860 births 1940 deaths Businesspeople in timber American businesspeople in the oil industry American people in rail transportation 19th-century American railroad executives Businesspeople from Texas People from Tyler County, Texas Old Right (United States)