Trained as a blacksmith by his father in Alabama, John Ellison Burns (1853-1940) brought his hand-forged tools to Texas in 1874. He settled in the new town of Lockney in 1900 and opened a blacksmith shop. As his business expanded he hired his three sons and ten craftsmen to service the freight wagons that hauled farm commodities to the railroad in Lockney. When the town developed into a rail center, the freighting business declined. However, Burns continued serving the community as a blacksmith, repairing farm machinery and implements.