Forney Texas is named for John W. Forney (1817 - 1881).  He was a publisher, diplomat and politician but most importantly he was a railroad official who promoted the Texas & Pacific Railroad.  The early citizens of what was being called Brooklyn, Texas knew how important the railroad was for their town to prosper, and so in 1873 when the community of Brooklyn applied for a post office and they learned that another Brooklyn, Texas existed in Shelby County the powers who were decided to name the place for railroad man John Wien Forney and on December 29, 1873, the Forney Post Office was established and the town of Forney was born.