Recently, a Board of Directors Meeting was called to meet with the Family of Reeves Henry to discuss applying for a “recognition plaque/marker” that would give details about the repairing of the automobile that broke down in Forney, Texas, during the “First Automobile Trip” from Terrell, Texas, to Dallas, Texas, in 1899.
Henry was an African-American blacksmith, who had several blacksmith and repair shops in Forney from the late 1880s into the 1920s and is widely believed to have been the blacksmith who repaired the car when it broke down in Forney!
There is an historical marker for the “car trip” on Trinity Street in Bell Park, but Reeves Henry is not recognized “by name.”
Now, the Henry Family and the Forney Historic Preservation League would like to do research for and develop a “stand alone” marker, recognizing Mr. Henry and his accomplishments during the early days of FORNEY.
Already, Reeves Henry and various members of the Malone Family are recognized within various Spellman Museum exhibits. Representing their ancestor, REEVES HENRY, were the following members of the MALONE family: Jimmy Malone and wife, Sonya Starr Malone, and niece, Shelly Nixon, and son, Dar Salaam Malone— Kathleen Evans and son, Ephram Evans (cousins of Jimmy)—Regina Cornelius—and more for whom we, unfortunately, did not yet record names. We will have more updates and probably names of “workers” as we make progress.
In other special events at the Museum, May 5 was the 1st day of the “Women, Aviation, and WWII Ending” exhibit from Texas Trails and Lakes, on display through June 26. View information at https://historicforney. org/spellmanmuseum/rotating-exhibits/.
The “Museum” was designated as a “stop” on the “Johnson Elementary Scavenger Hunt,” which took place over two Saturdays— May 1 and May 8—and was developed to take the place of some other “end-of-the-year” events that were “scrapped” for COVID reasons! It took “hunters” through several stops in downtown Forney, including the Murals, Bell Park, the Little Free Library at the Xeric Garden, and the Art Installation by the Caboose. More than 100 “hunters” came through the Museum the 1st Saturday, and most spent a “good” amount of time “absorbing” the Museum instead of just “breezing” though—and many made purchases at the Gift Shop/made donations. The 2nd Saturday “promised” to be just as eventful!
The Spellman Museum is open each week, Wednesday through Saturday, and special arrangements can be made for “group tours.” Please contact Museum Manager, Kendall Milton, who also helped provide information for this article.
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