For Immediate Release Media Contact: Ben Wheeler Development Company, LLC
May 20, 2009 Veronica Terres • 903.262.4786
May 23, 2009, officially declared Ben Wheeler Day-Town to Celebrate at Birthday Bash, Saturday
Ben Wheeler, Texas – On May, 12, 2009, the Commissioners Court of Van Zandt County, Texas officially proclaimed Saturday, May 23, 2009 as Ben Wheeler Day – the same day, the citizens of Ben Wheeler plan to celebrate the birth of their town’s namesake and the birth of the town during its inaugural Ben Wheeler’s Birthday Bash celebration taking place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., downtown.
Benjamin (Ben) Wheeler was a postal carrier contracted to carry mail from Canton to Edom on a mail-toting mule. Originally called Clough, the town was renamed Ben Wheeler in 1878 paying homage to the postal carrier.
Ben Wheeler Development Company and Ben Wheeler Arts & Historic District Foundation are hosting the event to recognize Ben Wheeler’s rich history, the future of the town resurrected and the ongoing revitalization meant to help instill a greater sense of community pride.
To help mark the occasion, guests can enjoy a good old-fashioned picnic on the grounds (guests are encouraged to bring their own picnic, but concessions will also be available); pony rides for the kids sponsored by Door Control Services, Inc.; mule-drawn wagon ride tours sponsored by First State Bank of Ben Wheeler; a “Ben Wheeler the Postman” reenactor; old-timers’ storytelling; quilts, spinning & crafting areas; games provided by the Ben Wheeler Post Office; a “What Did Ben Wheeler Look Like?” adult costume contest and live music by the East Texas BackRoads Band.
Additionally, inside the downtown fire station, community members are invited to showcase their own historical artifacts, photos, legal documentation or other memorabilia at the daylong Ben Wheeler Museum. The Van Zandt Historical Commission is helping support the one-day museum for all those interested in sharing and learning more about the town and its rich history.
Before the Birthday Bash is over, guests can join in singing “Happy Birthday” and enjoy birthday cake provided by Country Bakery and Inflatables.
Attendees are also encouraged to leap back in time and dawn late 1800s/early 1900s attire. For more information, please call 903.833.2084.
In a community with a thousand or so nearby residents, Ben Wheeler Development Company (BWDC) and Ben Wheeler Arts & Historic District Foundation (BWA & HDF) are planning music venues, multiple entertainment porches, new restaurants, new shops and various businesses. A fully restored downtown park complete with gazebos is also planned to be part of Ben Wheeler’s renewal.
Ben Wheeler, named for the first man to carry mail into Van Zandt County, thrived during the late 1800s and early 1900s as families arrived in horse-drawn wagons, rode horses, or walked to visit, get mail, buy supplies, and sell or trade goods at one of the several general stores. The community included churches, barbers, blacksmiths, tailors, saddle and shoe shop, several gins and mills, a bank, the Berry Resort Hotel, boarding houses, a movie theater, lumber yard, a garage with gas pumps eventually, cafes, a school, and even a college at one time called the Alamo Institute. Ben Wheeler shrank after World War II as many people left for large cities to find work.
For more information about BWDC or BWA & HDF, please contact marketing director Veronica Terres at 903.262.4786.
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