Reconstruction era George Washington Kirk was a soldier who served in American Civil War.

[4] In 1870, Kirk was tasked by North Carolina Governor William Woods Holden to raise and lead a militia into Alamance and Caswell counties to quell the Ku Klux Klan.

Though he was successful in breaking up Klan activity, none of the 100 men he arrested were charged by local authorities.

In addition, the action led to Kirk's own arrest, and the impeachment of Governor Holden.

[3] With the help of the United States Marshal, Kirk was able to escape from jail, and later was given a position as a police officer with the capital force in Washington, D.C.[5] In 1890, it was reported that "several very rich finds" of gold, in the Maryland hills near the Potomac River, were discovered, and "being worked", on Kirk's land.