Wheeler
Liberty Township, Mitchell County, Iowa
The town of Wheeler grew up about three-forths of a mile from the town of Little Cedar--and is now a ghost town. In 2004, all that remains is a few chunks of the old dam, and those are hard to find. For a time, fisherman could sit on the broken ruins of the old dam, as the spot was still considered a favorite "bass hole."
Plat map of Wheeler.
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larger version of this map.Sam Myrick was among the first white men to come here in 1878. He purchased 140 acres just across the road from the present cemetery. He built a grist mill at a cost of $7,500. It was located east of the present Heine Lammer's homestead.
By 1891 a small mill town known as "Wheeler" had grown up around the mill on the banks of the Little Cedar River. The village was platted in 1891, and officially known by the name of Wheeler. A few years later, however. when the railroad came through and
missed the town, it marked the beginning of the end for Wheeler.
Myrick Mill, Billy Jones miller
[Click here to see original (120k)]
Street scene in Wheeler
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Originally compiled 2002 by Neal Du Shane
Contact information:
Little Cedar MCHS 071102
Edited and revised by Kermit Kittleson, Sept. 24, 2004.