Montgomery County archeological kiln site dates back to mid-1800s. Here’s what to know.

Montgomery County is home to an archeological site that is on the National Register of Historic Places and dates back to the mid-1800s. 

In the 1970s, the Texas Historical Commission named the Kirbee Kiln site in western Montgomery County as the largest groundhog kiln that had then been excavated in Texas, and it remains one of the largest ever recorded in the American South.

For the Craft in America organization, master potter Vernon Owens explained a “groundhog kiln” is a long rectangular tunnel partially dug out of the ground or hillside. 

Last week, archeologists David Brown and Meredith Mitchell Dreiss offered a presentation of their work at the historic Kirbee Kiln to patrons of the Genealogical Department at Conroe’s Central Library. 

Here’s what to know about the historic site. It is important to note that the site is on private land, is not open to the public and very little remains visible of the operation.

CONROE CLOSES REC CENTER: Conroe to shutter former YMCA building as it considers options for site in flood zone

Who was James Kirbee? 

The Kirbee Kiln likely opened around 1847 and was owned by James Kirbee (also spelled Kirby) and his sons who were pioneer potters. 

Dreiss said the family brought with them a unique style of pottery making called the Southern Alkaline glazed stoneware tradition. Kirbee came to Texas from Edgefield, South Carolina which was known for its pottery techniques in the 1800s. They most likely studied with Rev. John Landrum and his associates. 

The Kirbee family steadily moved east spreading the pottery technique across the Southern states eventually landing near Montgomery. Dreiss said it is probable that there was a connection between the Landrum family in South Carolina and some Landrum cousins in the Montgomery area. 

Kirbee could have been “tipped off” to the natural resources here that made it beneficial for a kiln site. The area had ample kaolin, a soft, white clay plus several creeks offering a water source. The kiln operated through 1860 on Juggery Creek making mainly utilitarian jugs used for storage on pioneer homesteads. 

“The Kirbees were one of the few to venture so close to the Texas coast, an area where no other early stoneware manufacturers are known,” Brown said. 

She said evidence suggests the Kirbee family was of good standing in the community and most likely did business with the Willis brothers prominent in early Montgomery. The family were also founders of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery. 

The elder Kirbee died in 1900 at age 90 and is buried in Jefferson County in the Beaumont area. 

Lost piece of history 

The project was originally excavated in the early 1970s by James Malone with the Texas Historical Commission and funded by Dreiss’ father, George Mitchell, founder of The Woodlands. 

She said her dad owned the property at the time of the 1970s excavation. 

“My dad was excited about the kiln and had given me a copy of Malone’s 1979 report. My archeology interests were elsewhere at the time and I put the report on a shelf. Some years later the land was sold and the kiln was forgotten,” she said. 

In December 2020, The Mitchell Foundation repurchased the property to protect the six creeks flowing south on the property. Brown reminded her of the kiln site and she reviewed Malone’s report decades later. 

“Our plan is to put environmental easements on the kiln and the waterways for long-term conservation,” she said. “I owe it to my father and James Malone to follow through on a project they started.” 

CELEBRITY’S TUNA RECIPE: Matthew McConaughey’s tuna fish recipe wows influencers on TikTok and Instagram

Preservation for the future

Dreiss believes prior to the 1970s excavation and preservation, many of the pottery pieces wandered off as people explored the area. 

Very little remains visible, but preservation work took place in 2022 and 2023 and earlier this year at the site. 

“The kiln has been very well studied and our intent is to further bury it and make it inaccessible to looting,” Brown said. 

Today, examples of Kirbee Kiln pottery are on display at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Hunstville and the Bayou Bend Collection in Houston. 

If the full content does not display, visit the article originally published on this site