FORNEY, Texas — The Spellman Museum of Forney History is the second oldest building in Forney, holding one of the newest additions to Texas history, Reeves Henry. He was born in 1859.
“He was an inventor and a machinist,” said Kendall Nobles, Spellman Museum of Forney History Manager. “Some people were quoted as calling him a mechanical genius.”
Nobles said there is only one known picture believed to be of Henry at his home. “Reeves Henry was a blacksmith and a mechanic in Forney from the late 1880s to the 1920s.”
Living in a segregated Texas, Henry’s shop served both Black and White people. One of his most famous achievements happened unexpectedly in 1899. “It just kind of fell into his lap,” said Nobles.
“A man named Colonel Ned Green lived in Terrell, Texas and he had a car shipped to him from the St. Louis car manufacturing company. He wanted to drive the car from Terrell to Dallas, so it could be part of an exhibit at the State Fair,” said Nobles.
It was the first automobile driven in Texas.
The 30-mile journey took five-and-a-half hours. “When he came to Forney, he got run off the road. The car wrecked. I think the water tank cracked or broke. He had to get the car fixed, but nobody ever worked on cars,” said Nobles.
However, Henry, the mechanical genius, figured out a way to fix the vehicle and get it on its way to Dallas. “It was very exciting. The newspapers were waiting for him in Dallas. He finally got there and was met with cheers and parades and everything,” said Nobles.
A historical marker commemorated the day which was, ironically, “Confederacy Day” at the State Fair of Texas, but Henry’s name was left off the marker. “Because they didn’t have that hard evidence, they just said local blacksmith on the marker instead of naming Reeves Henry by name,” said Nobles.
Reeves' great-grandson, Jimmy Malone, advocated for a way to honor his great-grandfather.
Just a few years ago, he came back up to the museum and the Forney Historic Preservation League just to see if there was anything we could do to get that oversight corrected.
"After we did some more research, some more census data -- it turned out that we had enough information about Reeves Henry aside from the car trip that we could submit to the Texas Historical Commission,” said Nobles.
Now, Reeves Henry will get his own historical marker unveiled on Saturday in Forney.
“It’s pretty exciting," said Nobles. "Doing the research and finding out more about him was fun and interesting. We also have several markers in Forney, other historical markers, but there’s only one or two that are about individual people."
The dedication of the marker also comes during the last weekend of the State Fair of Texas and during Malone’s family reunion weekend. “My family and I are just so elated,” said Malone.
The dedication ceremony takes place Saturday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. at 210 E. Broad St. Forney, Texas.