[4] The grant Hopkins received was originally called Hopkinsville; it was later combined with a parcel from the town of Burke, and renamed Kirby.

[5] Several ideas have been proposed for how the name Kirby was chosen; the most common is that it is a variant of the English Kirkby, which means a village or settlement around a church.

[6][7] By the time the town was organized in 1807, Hopkins had sold his interest and moved to Hopkinton, New York.

It is bordered by the town of St. Johnsbury to the southwest, Lyndon to the west, Burke to the north, Victory to the northeast, Concord to the southeast, and Waterford to the south.

[8] U.S. Route 2 passes through the southern corner of the town, connecting St. Johnsbury to the west with Lancaster, New Hampshire, to the east.