Nineteenth-century Native Americans and white settlers found these high plains abounding with wildlife to hunt. Wheeler County still attracts hunters and bird watchers who come for the area’s white-tailed deer and a range of birds--including the lesser prairie-chicken, dove, quail, pheasant and wild turkey. City history began in 1906 when two enterprising ranchers established the town in the center of the county, then convinced the county to move its seat from the landmark town of Mobeetie. Disastrous fires in the 1920s devastated downtown, which rebuilt with fire-resistant brick buildings, including in the 1925 Wheeler County Courthouse. West Texas architect E.H. Eades of Shamrock designed the Classical Revival-style edifice using Palladian windows and Corinthian columns found in many courthouses of the era. Using state and local funds through the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, the county restored the grand structure inside and out. Historic downtown also offers B&B lodging in an adapted 1924 drugstore.
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Plains Trail Region
Wheeler Historical Museum
105 N. Alan L Bean Blvd. Wheeler, TX 79096 (806) 826-2251 Website
Wheeler Historical Museum105 N. Alan L Bean Blvd.
Wheeler, TX 79096
Wheeler County Courthouse401 Main
Wheeler, TX 79096