Kirby, Indiana

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Kirby, Indiana
Unincorporated community
USA Indiana location map.svg
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Kirby
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Kirby
Coordinates: 39°08′12″N86°36′36″W / 39.13667°N 86.61000°W / 39.13667; -86.61000
Country United States
State Indiana
County Monroe
Township Van Buren
Elevation
[1]
837 ft (255 m)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
47403
Area codes 812, 930
FIPS code 18-39915 [2]
GNIS feature ID437350 [1]

Kirby is an unincorporated community in Van Buren Township, Monroe County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. [1]

Contents

Geography

Kirby is located just north of Indiana State Road 45, near Bloomington. [3] The community lies 4 miles (6.4 km) from Bloomington, the county seat. [4]

History

The community was named after the Kirby family, who lived in the area. [5]

The Kirby School, a one-room schoolhouse, [6] opened in 1853, with 52 students. Land for a new school was purchased by Van Buren Township, from Benjamin F Williams, for a new Kirby school in 1859. [7] The school districts in the area were renumbered at that time, with Kirby School being renumbered from #3 to #1. [8] The Kirby School enrolled 31 in 1888. [9] in the 1898–1899 school year, the Kirby School burned to the ground. It was replaced by a new building shortly thereafter.

In spring 1903 construction began on a railroad line through the area; the workers, many of them foreign-born, lived in shacks and bunk-houses in the area. The rail line was completed in 1906. [8] Kirby became the location of a flag station on the Indianapolis Southern Railroad line. [10] The Kirby station was one of two flag stations in the township (the other being the station at Elwren). In addition to railroad improvements, Indiana State Road 45 in the Kirby area was paved in 1929. [8]

In 1909, the Kirby School was moved, in order to situate it more conveniently for the population. [8]

The village of Kirby had 12 residents in 1920. [11] The population had declined to just 2 in 1940. [4] The Kirby School closed that year. [8]

Today, Kirby is the location of the Monroe County, Indiana Airport. [12] This airport opened in 1942. [9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kirby, Indiana
  2. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Indiana Highway Map" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  4. 1 2 The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 276.
  5. ↑ Baker, Ronald L. (October 1995). From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History . Indiana University Press. p.  185. ISBN   978-0-253-32866-3. ...named for the local Kirby family.
  6. ↑ "Photo Record". Monroe County History Center. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Timeline". Monroe County Public Library. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Hornocker, Mabel Pafford. "A century of development, Van Buren Township, Monroe County, Ind". pp. 9, 70–74. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Mapping Monroe County, Indiana: An Annotated Bibliography— 1815–1941 (PDF). pp. 22, 27.
  10. ↑ Annual Report of the Railroad Commission of Indiana, Volume 5. Railroad Commission of Indiana. 1911. pp. 94–95.
  11. ↑ Premier Atlas of the World: Containing Maps of All Countries of the World, with the Most Recent Boundary Decisions, and Maps of All the States, Territories, and Possessions of the United States with Population Figures from the Latest Official Census Reports, Also Data of Interest Concerning International and Domestic Political Questions. Rand McNally & Company. 1925. p. 186.
  12. ↑ Rund, Christopher; Frailey, Fred W.; Powell, Eric (2012). The Indiana Rail Road Company. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 245. ISBN   978-0-253-35695-6.
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