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History · Wheeler

Wheeler’s post office opened in 1902

Below: maps from 1923 on.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Wheeler began

When was Wheeler founded?

1902

The Wheeler post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 74124 years
Founding year: the first Wheeler post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Wheeler’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Wheeler are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wheeler’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wheeler’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Wheeler, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wheeler yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wheeler is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grant County, Washington, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 74. The CDP is in the eastern part of the county, 5 miles (8 km) east of the center of Moses Lake. A spur of the BNSF Railway runs through Wheeler, serving various industries to the west of the community.

Its first post office opened in 1902.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wheeler, 1902 to 1943

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Wheeler post office opens
  3. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1943Post officeThe Wheeler post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Wheeler on the map, 1923 to 1956

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wheeler. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Wheeler on the 1923 USGS mapWheeler on the 1956 USGS map1923Wheeler sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wheeler.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wheeler

Nobody well known was born in Wheeler itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Clarence GilyardAmerican actor · b. 1955
Pierson FodéAmerican actor and model · b. 1991
ValkyraeAmerican video game streamer · b. 1992
Davey RichardsAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1983
Joseph J. TysonAmerican Catholic prelate · b. 1957
Matt CedeñoAmerican actor and model · b. 1973
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Wheeler had its own post office from 1902 to 1943.

Wheeler
1902–1943
19001960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Wheeler’s history

What year was Wheeler founded?

The Wheeler post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.