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 Benjamin Franklin Wheeler
N 32° 40.201 W 095° 45.514
15S E 241308 N 3618069
Texas Historical Marker in the vicinity of 301 Van Zandt County Rd 1117, noting the contributions of Benjamin Franklin Wheeler to Van Zandt County.
Waymark Code: WMW01R
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/19/2017
Views: 1
The marker is on the south side of VZ CR 1117, just around the corner from the Creagleville Cemetery, where Mr. Wheeler is buried.
Marker Number: 18217
Marker Text:
Benjamin Franklin Wheeler, namesake for the Ben Wheeler community, contributed to the development of communications aross the region in his mail-carrying career and influenced land ownership in the area. He was born in 1818, in Adair County, Kentucky. He went on to spend many years as a boatman along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, finally marrying his wife, Eliza, in New Orleans. The couple moved to Henderson County, Texas in 1847, but soon moved to Van Zandt County to own land near his sister's family. During his first years in Texas, he carried mail between Tyler and communities to its west, making him one of the first people to carry mail in and through Van Zandt County. He also had a hand in improving a portion of the Shreveport and Dallas Road in 1853, and carried mail for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
After his wife returned to New Orleans, Wheeler married the widow Caroline Watkins in 1865. In addition to his son, James, whom he had with Eliza, he also raised three more children with his new wife. Ben Wheeler and his family lived at Creagleville for most of his life. For a time he owned and operated a liquor dealership in the county. He carried mail between Edom and Canton, and would stop halfway at the home of his friend George W. Clough. In 1876, George Clough made a request for the establishment of a post office in the community. The request was approved and was named Ben Wheeler. The office was operated out of Postmaster Clough's home. Before his death in 1899, Wheeler sold nearly 300 of his acres to churches, friends and family. Benjamin Wheeler's life and career helped shape the future of Van Zandt County.
Marker is Property of the State of Texas (2015)
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