Forney Community Park: The New Pride of Forney Texas

Forney, Texas has a new pride in town. This small east Texas town is already known as "The Antique Capital of Texas", and we all love those numerous antique shops in the area. However, in March, the Forney Community Park officially opened to the public, and what a beautiful park it is. The park, located on FM 548 north of FM 741 in Forney, Texas has a unique front entrance sign which includes cement cotton bales that appear to be holding the sign up. Forney was once a strong cotton producing town and city officials wanted to pay homage to that fact. As you drive into the park you can't help but notice the beautiful Softball Complex, complete with 4 fields with covered seating and a large concession building. The building is called the Pink Elephant, which is another tribute to a former Forney business that had been in town for nearly 50 years before closing.

If you're a soccer fan, or just a soccer mom/dad, you will appreciate the 12 soccer fields that were built for area players up to age 10. Come out to the park any Saturday morning and you will see every color of soccer uniform and kids age 5-10 sprinting up and down the fields. They even added something that my mom would have loved when I was a youth soccer player, a covered area with benches. No more sitting out in the rain cheering your kid on! And of course there is yet another large building for restrooms and concession sales, this in the shape of a large barn and properly named, 'The Barn'!

This community park also includes an ample sized playground with plenty of safe structures for the younger kids to climb on, jump on, spin around on or swing on. They have even included a mini water park area to be used in the summer months. If you have ever lived in Texas, you will know how much use that water area will get thanks to the hot summers here.

Next to the playground area are 2 full size basketball courts with lighting, 2 horse shoe pits, 2 sand volleyball courts, benches, and yet another concession stand with restrooms and a small pavilion. Fifty yards away are 3 full size tennis courts with lighting, which is what I have been getting the most use out of since the park opened. I even convinced my 66 year old mom to take up tennis, and she loves it. It's great exercise and fun for both of us. Another aspect I thoroughly enjoy are the numerous walking/hiking trails throughout the park and at the back of the park. You can walk, run, walk your dog (it is a pet friendly park as long as they are on leash), ride your bike or rollerblades. The only thing not allowed on the trails are motorized vehicles.

The Forney Community Park has plenty of parking, freshly planted trees and green grass. The best news is that the park is still not complete. They will be adding baseball fields, and a football field and continuing to increase the length of the walking trails to the 127 acres that make up Forney Community Park. I love this new addition to my town, if you come see it, I know you'll love it too. My only request would be to make sure you don't leave trash behind, so we can keep the park beautiful. My mom and I go there once a week with plastic bags in hand, to pick up any litter we happen to find. It's our way of giving back to the community and showing our appreciation for this gem of a park.

Sources:

http://www.sradesign.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141&Itemid=391

http://www.forneymessengerinc.com/article.cfm?articleId=85069

http://www.cityofforney.org/index.php?id=135