Histopolis Place-of-the-Day

Histopolis features a different cemetery, town, county or other place every day on the Place-of-The-Day.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

The Histopolis Place-of-the-Day for Saturday, July 30, 2011 is the Wheeler County in Texas.

"Wheeler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 5,284. Its county seat is Wheeler. Officially formed in 1876, the county is named for Royal Tyler Wheeler, a chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Wheeler County is one of 30 prohibition or entirely dry counties in the state of Texas.

"The Pioneer West Museum, the Wheeler County historical museum, is located in Shamrock off U.S. Highway 83.

"In 1876, the Texas State Legislature established Wheeler County. In 1879, Mobeetie was named the county seat. Mobeetie was then known as "Sweetwater," but this name should not be confused with the Sweetwater, which is the seat of Nolan County west of Abilene. A stone courthouse was erected from locally quarried materials in 1880 but was replaced by a wooden structure in 1888. The town of Wheeler was designated as the county seat in 1908. The wooden courthouse was moved to the current site but was replaced by the existing structure as a result of a 1925 bond election. The previous building was sold to a sheriff, Riley Price, who dismantled it and used it to build barns on his nearby ranch. The structure was designed by E.H. Eads of Shamrock and built by local contractors Hughes and Campbell. It features Palladian windows and Corinthian columns, characteristic of the Greek revival style of architecture."

Explore Wheeler County on Histopolis now. If you have a place that you would like to see featured as the Histopolis Place-of-the-Day, contact the webmaster to suggest it.

July 2011

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Note: The first Place-of-the-Day was in September 2010