Kit Community

Kit Community. . Jonathan Story and his family moved from Illinois to the eastern side of today's Irving, around Loop 12 and Irving Boulevard, in 1855. Isaac (Ike) Story, Jonathan's brother, opened a general store at what today is the intersection of Irving Heights Drive and Sixth Street. In 1889, he applied for and was granted a post office, which he operated from inside his store. He chose the name Kit, which was his aunt Katherine's nickname. The surrounding area soon became known as the Kit community, with Ike's store as its center. In 1896, land was donated for a Kit community cemetery., The early settlers farmed, but they also cut and sold wood from the heavily timbered land. Beginning in the 1850s through 1900, the community established several different schools. Mark Callister Lively served as the teacher for many years. In 1905, a new school building was built and named Lively School after the teacher. When the Irving Independent School District was created in 1909, that two-story, wood-frame building became the district's first school. , The City of Irving was established in December 1903, about a mile west of Ike Story's store. The focus of the region shifted to Irving, and in 1904 the post office was moved from Kit to Irving. During the following decades, Irving expanded and by the 1940s began the process to annex the Kit community., Captions , (Photo #1) Henry Britain Home , Henry Britain's ranch was not far from the Kit store. Britain sold 80 acres of his ranch to two young men who established the town of Irving on the property. Pictured is the Britain home and family members in 1900. , (Photo #2) The Kit Store , Ike Story and family pose in front of the Kit store in 1900. Notice the human eye in the spelling of Kit. The store also served as a post office serving about 38 families in the surrounding community.