Creagleville near Grand Saline in Van Zandt County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Benjamin Franklin Wheeler

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, September 2, 2024

1. Benjamin Franklin Wheeler Marker

Inscription. 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

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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.

Erected 2015 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 18217.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 32° 40.198′ N, 95° 45.513′ W. Marker is near Grand Saline, Texas, in Van Zandt County. It is in Creagleville. It is on County Road 1817 near County Road 1818. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Grand Saline TX 75140, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, September 2, 2024

2. Benjamin Franklin Wheeler Marker

of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Mercer's Colony Eastern Boundary (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Creagleville (approx. ¼ mile away); Poletown and Rhodesburg (approx. 1½ miles away); Wiley Hardeman Post (approx. 2.9 miles away); First Methodist Church of Grand Saline (approx. 2.9 miles away); Grand Saline, C.S.A. (approx. 3.4 miles away); Jordans Saline (approx. 4 miles away); José Francisco Calahorra y Saenz (approx. 4.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Saline.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 3, 2024, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 203 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 3, 2024, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.