Ben Wheeler
Ben Wheeler, Texas, founded in the 1840s and named after pioneer mail carrier Benjamin F. Wheeler, is a historic, unincorporated community in Van Zandt County that transformed from a struggling 20th-century town into a vibrant "arts and music" destination. After fires and economic decline, it was revived in the 2000s by Brooks Gremmels, becoming known as the "Wild Hog Capital of Texas. By 1896, the town boasted a population of 500. It was hit by a major fire in 1893 and a smallpox epidemic in 1904, which reduced the population to 238 by 1904. While partly insulated from the Great Depression by the East Texas oil boom, the town declined in the 1950s as residents moved to cities, leading to a near-ghost town status by the 1990s. Starting in the early 2000s, Dallas businessman Brooks Gremmels and his wife, Renette, purchased and restored many of the town's crumbling buildings to create an art, music, and restaurant hub, including the historic Moore's Store. Known for its annual Feral Hog Festival, the town has become a popular East Texas destination for live music, dining, and shopping.
