Wheeler County, Texas

Wheeler County, Texas
Wheeler County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1879
Seat	Wheeler
Largest city	Shamrock
Area
• Total	915 sq mi (2,370 km2)
• Land	915 sq mi (2,370 km2)
• Water	1.0 sq mi (3 km2), 0.1%
Population
• (2010)	5,410
• Density	5.9/sq mi (2/km²)
Congressional district	13th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.wheeler.tx.us

Wheeler County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,410. Its county seat is Wheeler. The county was formed in 1876 and organized in 1879. It is named for Royall Tyler Wheeler, a chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

Wheeler County was one of thirty prohibition or entirely dry counties in the state of Texas. However, in approximately 2010, the community of Shamrock, located in Wheeler County at the intersection of Interstate 40 (old U.S. Route 66) and U.S. Highway 83, voted to allow liquor sales. Within the city limits of Shamrock is the only place to purchase liquor in Wheeler County.

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.