About Us
The Spellman Museum of Forney History is operated by the Forney Historic Preservation League (FHPL), a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of the Forney area.
Forney Historic Preservation League
The Spellman Museum of Forney History is governed and operated by the Forney Historic Preservation League, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. This FHPL was incorporated in 1988 as a means of preserving historic buildings and other sites in the Forney area. The FHPL over the years has installed numerous historical markers in town and published a thorough history of the Forney area in a book called Forney Country: A History of Northwestern Kaufman County, Texas. The Spellman Museum of Forney History was founded in 2001 thanks to benefactor Mick Spellman, and the FHPL continues to operate the museum for the benefit of the public.
Our vision is to become a regional model for demonstrating how presentation of local history through well-designed exhibit, appropriate digital displays, and family stories, along with the preservation of historic buildings and sites, encourages citizens of all ages in the Forney area to be more aware of and involved in keeping the history of Forney alive.
Top left to right: Forney Saloon, Riter Garage, Coffee Grinder, East Main Street
2026 Board Members
Debbie Singleton Stuart
President
George Venner
Vice President
Donna Hervey
Treasurer
Jana Garner
Secretary
Charles Beason
Board Member
Bill Crawley
Board Member
Lawrence Higgins
Board Member
Sarah Kelly
Board Member
Mesina Rutstein
Board Member
Don Themer
Board Member
Rick Townsend
Board Member
Margaret Tull
Board Member
The Forney Historic Preservation League holds board meetings on the 2nd Monday of each month at the Spellman Museum of Forney History. These meetings are open to the public.
Meet Our Staff
Kendall Nobles
Museum Manager
Kendall Nobles holds a Master’s degree in Public History from Texas State University – San Marcos. She joined the museum staff in November 2013, as the FHPL Board was finalizing research and production for expanded exhibits. She currently oversees the museum’s collections and exhibits and manages the majority of day-to-day operations.
Denise Costello
Museum Assistant
Denise Costello holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Texas and a Master of Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University. She spent 36 years in the petroleum industry as an engineering technician before retiring. She now works part-time at the Spellman Museum.
Above: Mick Spellman
Above: Coreen Mary Spellman
Spellman Family
Michael and Carrie Huffines Spellman were pioneers of the Forney community. He was a railroad construction teamster who came to the area in 1872-1873 and later became a prominent hay and cotton producer and a banker. The family home on Center St was built in 1896 and remains a beautiful historic home today.
Their son Mick Spellman (1913-2006) was born in Forney, the fifth of six children. He graduated from Forney HS in 1931 and later North Texas Agricultural College and the University of Texas at Austin. He worked for the Southern Union Gas Co. for 42 years until his retirement in 1977. During WWII he served in the US Army Air Corps, Eighth Air Depot Group, stationed in British West Africa. As a retired man, Mick enjoyed traveling and maintaining the ancestral home on S. Center St. in which he was born and lived his whole life. He was an enthusiastic promoter of his community and supported various organizations of civic improvement and historic preservation. Mick was an integral part of the creation of a local history museum in Forney, and the Spellman Museum was founded in September of 2001 with his help. After his death, a bequest from his estate allowed for the Forney Historic Preservation League to purchase, renovate, and install exhibits in historic downtown buildings as the new, expanded home of the Spellman Museum of Forney History.
Coreen Mary Spellman (1905-1978) was a talented and noted regional artist who showed skill from a young age. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in costume design and fine arts from several universities including Texas State Women’s College in Denton (later Texas Woman’s University). In 1929 she accepted a teaching position there and remained on staff until her retirement in 1974. Though skilled in many techniques such as etchings and watercolors, Coreen Spellman is perhaps best known for her lithograph prints, often of urban scenes or southwestern landscapes. She was active in the creation of a guild to promote women printmakers and had solo shows across Texas and the United States. Her brother Mick donated a substantial collection of her artwork to the Spellman Museum of Forney History. Visit our Coreen Spellman page to learn more about our collection.
Above: Mick Spellman
Spellman Family
Michael and Carrie Huffines Spellman were pioneers of the Forney community. He was a railroad construction teamster who came to the area in 1872-1873 and later became a prominent hay and cotton producer and a banker. The family home on Center St was built in 1896 and remains a beautiful historic home today.
Their son Mick Spellman (1913-2006) was born in Forney, the fifth of six children. He graduated from Forney HS in 1931 and later North Texas Agricultural College and the University of Texas at Austin. He worked for the Southern Union Gas Co. for 42 years until his retirement in 1977. During WWII he served in the US Army Air Corps, Eighth Air Depot Group, stationed in British West Africa. As a retired man, Mick enjoyed traveling and maintaining the ancestral home on S. Center St. in which he was born and lived his whole life. He was an enthusiastic promoter of his community and supported various organizations of civic improvement and historic preservation. Mick was an integral part of the creation of a local history museum in Forney, and the Spellman Museum was founded in September of 2001 with his help. After his death, a bequest from his estate allowed for the Forney Historic Preservation League to purchase, renovate, and install exhibits in historic downtown buildings as the new, expanded home of the Spellman Museum of Forney History.
Coreen Mary Spellman (1905-1978) was a talented and noted regional artist who showed skill from a young age. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in costume design and fine arts from several universities including Texas State Women’s College in Denton (later Texas Woman’s University). In 1929 she accepted a teaching position there and remained on staff until her retirement in 1974. Though skilled in many techniques such as etchings and watercolors, Coreen Spellman is perhaps best known for her lithograph prints, often of urban scenes or southwestern landscapes. She was active in the creation of a guild to promote women printmakers and had solo shows across Texas and the United States. Her brother Mick donated a substantial collection of her artwork to the Spellman Museum of Forney History. Visit our Coreen Spellman page to learn more about our collection.
Location & MAILING
200 S. Bois d’Arc Street
Forney, TX 75126