DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some stories are about one big moment: a battle, a flood, a fire. But this one?
This one's about a man who just kept showing up. Walter Dickson Adams was born right here in Kaufman County, and in 1887, when he was just fifteen years old, he came to Forney. Came to Forney, and apparently decided he wasn't going anywhere.
By 1893, young Walter had made his move: he purchased the F. M. Adams Drugstore, which itself was a successor to the R.
C. Dansby Drugstore, an establishment that had been doing business in this town since 1878. So right from the start, Adams was stepping into something with roots.
What he did next, though, was put down roots of his own. He became the town's most prominent druggist for the next sixty-eight years. Sixty-eight years, friends.
Think about that. Whole generations of Forney folks grew up knowing that if you needed something from the drugstore, you went to Walter Adams. The store itself moved around a little; originally on S.
Bois D'Arc Street, it relocated to Main Street in 1901. And Adams wasn't content to just run a good business. He was elected mayor in 1912, and he held offices in state and national professional organizations, the kind of man a community leans on.
Then in 1976, the Adams Drugstore moved to this very site; still a thriving local business when that move was made. Walter Dickson Adams lived from 1872 to 1961. He came to Forney at fifteen, and he gave that town nearly seven decades behind the counter.
Some men pass through a place. Walter Adams became part of it.
What the marker says
A native of Kaufman County, Walter Dickson Adams (1872-1961) came to Forney in 1887. In 1893 he purchased the F. M. Adams Drugstore, a successor of the R. C. Dansby Drugstore established in 1878. He was the town's most prominent druggist for the next sixty-eight years. Originally on S. Bois D'Arc Street, the store was relocated to Main Street in 1901. A respected community leader, Adams was elected mayor in 1912 and held offices in state and national professional organizations. Still a thriving local business, the Adams Drugstore was moved to this site in 1976.