Benjamin Franklin Wheeler

Duane's take

The official marker's the source here, and this is how I tell it. Now settle in, because this one's the story of a man whose name got nailed to a map, and how it got there is a tale worth hearing. Benjamin Franklin Wheeler.

Born in 1818, in Adair County, Kentucky. That's where the story starts, but it does not stay there long. Young Wheeler took to the water, spending many years as a boatman along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

You picture that, working those big rivers, learning their moods. And somewhere along the way, down in New Orleans, he met and married his wife, Eliza. In 1847, the two of them packed up and headed to Texas, settling first in Henderson County.

But Wheeler's eye was on Van Zandt County, where his sister's family had put down roots, and before long that's exactly where he went, land and all. Now, those first years in Texas, Wheeler was not sitting still. He was carrying mail between Tyler and communities to its west, making him one of the first people to carry mail in and through Van Zandt County.

One of the first. That is not a small thing in a place still findin' its shape. He also had a hand in improving a portion of the Shreveport and Dallas Road in 1853.

Roads and mail, the connective tissue of any growin' place, and Wheeler had his hands in both. When the Civil War came, he carried mail for the Confederacy. After the war, life shifted.

His wife Eliza returned to New Orleans. Wheeler then married the widow Caroline Watkins in 1865, and together they raised three more children alongside his son James, whom he'd had with Eliza. The family settled at Creagleville, and Wheeler lived there for most of his life.

He owned and operated a liquor dealership in the county for a time. He carried mail between Edom and Canton, and right in the middle of that route was the home of his friend George W. Clough, a natural stopping point on a long road.

Now here is where the map changes. In 1876, George Clough made a request for the establishment of a post office in the community. The request was approved.

And what did they name it. Ben Wheeler. After the man who'd been stoppin' at that very doorstep, hauling the mail through.

The office was operated right out of postmaster Clough's home. Before his death in 1899, Wheeler sold nearly three hundred of his acres to churches, friends, and family. He scattered himself across that county in deed after deed, parcel by parcel.

Benjamin Franklin Wheeler: boatman, mail carrier, road builder, neighbor, and now, permanently, a name on the map of Van Zandt County. Some men leave statues. Wheeler left a post office, and a community that still carries his name today.

What the marker says

Benjamin Franklin Wheeler, namesake for the Ben Wheeler Community, contributed to the development of communications across 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.