Brooklyn Lodge No. 386, A.F. & A..M.

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it: let me pass it along to you now. Back in 1873, a railroad came rolling into a little Texas village called Brooklyn. The Texas and Pacific Railroad, to be precise.

And when the railroad arrived, things changed fast; the way they always do when iron rails show up in a quiet place. The town itself got a brand new name: Forney, in honor of John Wein Forney, a director of that very railroad. So Brooklyn the village became Forney the town, just like that.

But not everything was so quick to let go of the old name. That same year, 1873, the local Masonic Lodge was organized, and they held onto Brooklyn. Called themselves Brooklyn Lodge No. 386, A.F. and A.M., and they've been carrying that original town name ever since.

Now in the early days, the lodge didn't have a place to call its own. They met in a building they shared with the local school and the Union church (which, if you think about it, means one building was doing a whole lot of heavy lifting for that community). Over the years, the lodge members made a point of giving back.

One moment worth noting: in 1922, lodge members laid the cornerstone of Lewis High School, a quiet act of permanence in a town that had already seen its own name change out from under it. The lodge kept on, kept growing, and in 1966, a new lodge building was completed. Brooklyn Lodge No. 386, born the same year the railroad remade everything around it, and still standing long after the dust settled.

What the marker says

Following the arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railroad in the village of Brooklyn in 1873, the town name was changed to Forney in honor of John Wein Forney, a director of the railroad. The local Masonic Lodge was organized the same year, using the original town name. The lodge first met in a building shared with the local school and Union church. Over the years, lodge members have contributed to the community with projects such as laying the cornerstone of Lewis High School in 1922. A new lodge was completed in 1966.