Wheeler Springs Community

Duane's take

The official marker for Wheeler Springs Community is what I'm bringin' you now, and I'll do my best to honor every word of it. This story starts early, out west of here by about four and a half miles, where settlement in this area began in 1835. That's when a man named Joshua J.

Hall, born in 1790, established a community south of that spot along the Trinity River. He'd be around long enough to see a great deal of history, living until 1871, and the land he put roots into would outlast him by a long measure. After the Civil War, Hall family slaves and other freed African Americans settled here.

Let that settle in a moment. People who had been held in bondage on that very land, and others like them, stayed and built something of their own. That is the foundation this community stands on.

Now, the place didn't get its name until 1885. That year, the community was named for springs located on land donated by a man named French Taylor, born in 1842, who gave that land for church purposes. French Taylor would live to see 1937, long enough to watch what grew from that gift.

And what grew was real. A Baptist sanctuary and a schoolhouse were built near those springs, the schoolhouse dating to 1905. Then came the nineteen-twenties, and the community kept building.

A new school building was erected, and a cannery began operations. Work, worship, learning, all of it taking root in one place. The school closed in 1959, but here's where the story doesn't end the way you might expect.

The church and various civic organizations remain active. Some things, it turns out, outlast the buildings built to hold them.

What the marker says

(4.4. miles west) Settlement in this area began in 1835, when Joshua J. Hall (1790-1871) established a community south of here along the Trinity River. After the Civil War Hall family slaves and other freed African Americans settled here. In 1885 the community was named for springs located on land donated by French Taylor (1842-1937) for church purposes. A Baptist sanctuary and schoolhouse (1905) were built near the springs. In the 1920s a new school building was erected and a cannery began operations. The school closed in 1959 but the church and various civic organizations remain active. (1995)