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Henry H. Wheeler of Erie County, Pennsylvania, crossed the plains to California in 1857. In 1862 he  moved to The Dalles. Gold had been discovered on Canyon Creek in 1862 and people were flocking there by the hundreds. Food and supplies were carried in on pack animals and later by freight wagons. The route passed near the site of Antelope, through Burnt Ranch and Mitchell and on to Canyon City. An express was established in 1864. This same year, Henry Wheeler began a stage line from The Dalles, Oregon to Canyon City. On his first trip he carried 11 passengers and 11 on his return trip at $40 each way. The line made three round trips each week. EAch stage was drawn by four hourses and there wree eight changes on the 180 mile trip. Early in 1865 Wheeler took a mail contract at $12,000 per year for four years.
The stage and passengers were frequently plundered by Indians and highwaymen. On September 7, 1866, when near Mitchell, Indians robbed the stage but filed to carry away $10,000 in greenbacks. Mr. Wheeler was shot in the jaw and mouth with broken pieces of a stove lid, yet and his lone passenger escaped on the leading horses. He was taken 100 miles to a doctor and lived to old age. --- A History of Fossil by H.S. Goddard, M.D., early day physician.
Wheeler sold his stage line in 1868 and eventually settled near Mitchell. Wheeler County was named in his honor. Learn about the fascinating history of Wheeler County, its place names, origins and, of course, the geologic and prehistoric marvels of the John Day Fossil Beds. We have a project going with national significance -- the Paleo Project -- which seeks federal designation of this region as a National Geologic Interpretive Area and will also have a national-level Paleo Learning Center here at Fossil. ...Stay tuned!
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