The History of Forney, Texas
Forney started as a prairie village named Brooklyn, got renamed for a Pennsylvania railroad man out of gratitude, and eventually turned its old downtown into the Antique Capital of Texas — a title the Texas Legislature actually granted it. It's a farm-and-rail town east of Dallas that grew slowly for a century and then, as Dallas's sprawl reached across Kaufman County, became one of the metro's more affordable suburbs.
From Brooklyn to Forney (1860s–1873)
By the late 1860s a village called Brooklyn was the main town and trading center on the prairie between Dallas and Kaufman, anchored by John McKellar's general store. In 1873 the Texas & Pacific Railroad came through, and it changed everything. When the town went to register its name, though, there was already a Brooklyn over in Fayette County, so grateful residents chose a new one: they honored John Wien Forney, a Pennsylvania journalist and politician who sat on the Texas & Pacific board of directors and was believed to have helped bring the railroad through their area. The name was accepted, and the farm town grew up around the tracks.
Farm Center on the Rails (1873–1960s)
With the railroad and the fertile black soil, Forney settled into life as a farming and trade center, shipping cotton and crops and serving the surrounding Kaufman County farms. It was a solid, unremarkable county town for the better part of a century.
Antiques and Suburban Growth (1960s–Today)
Forney found a distinctive identity in the late 1960s, when Glenn 'Red' Whaley opened the town's first antique business and others followed, turning downtown Forney into an antiques destination. The Texas Legislature later made it official, recognizing Forney as the 'Antique Capital of Texas.' In more recent decades, as Dallas's growth pushed east along US-80, Forney has grown fast as one of the more affordable suburbs on that side of the metro — while keeping the antique-shop identity that sets it apart.
Timeline
1860s
The village of Brooklyn forms as a trading center east of Dallas, with John McKellar's store.
1873
The Texas & Pacific Railroad arrives; the town is renamed Forney for railroad director John W. Forney.
Notable People
John Wien Forney
Pennsylvania journalist, politician, and Texas & Pacific Railroad director for whom the town was renamed in gratitude for helping bring the railroad through.
FAQ: History of Forney
The town was first called Brooklyn, but that name was already taken by a town in Fayette County. When the railroad arrived in 1873, residents renamed it Forney for John Wien Forney, a Texas & Pacific Railroad director believed to have helped bring the line through the area.
Beginning in the late 1960s, Forney developed a cluster of antique businesses in its downtown, and the Texas Legislature officially recognized it as the 'Antique Capital of Texas.'
Forney grew from the 1860s village of Brooklyn and took the Forney name when the Texas & Pacific Railroad arrived in 1873. It remained a farm-and-rail town until Dallas's eastward growth reached it in recent decades.
Forney is known as the Antique Capital of Texas and as one of the more affordable fast-growing suburbs east of Dallas along the US-80 corridor.
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