Following the arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railroad in the village of Brooklyn in 1873, the town was renamed Forney in honor of railroad director John Wein Forney. That same year, the local Masonic lodge was organized under the original town name, Brooklyn Lodge No. 386, A.F. and A.M. It first met in a building shared with the local school and Union church. Over the years, its members contributed to the community through projects including laying the cornerstone of Lewis High School in 1922, and a new lodge building was completed in 1966.