The Town of Kirby, named for Kris Kirby a cowboy who ran cattle in the area, was established by overwhelming popular vote in 1915. Three months later the townspeople voted to construct the first town building – a jail, which would also serve as the town hall. As it turned out, this would be the only building erected by the town. Kirby’s heyday proved short-lived, and this small community soon settled into a prolonged decline that began with the Great Depression and continued through the 1940s and 50s. The building is constructed using gypsum blocks.