Voices from Small Places - Arcadia, TX
"Miss Lou's House." In 1935, Mrs. Lou Wheeler, J.A. Crawford, and J.E. Wheeler purchased land from J.A. Gunnels and established a store just to the south of this house. Mrs. Lou Wheeler had the only store at that time and it was locally referred to as "Miss Lou's Store". Mrs. Wheeler was a vital part of Arcadia and was a widow when she went into the store business. Maggie Louise Echols Wheeler was born December 29, 1869 and passed away on June 8, 1965.
According to grandson, J. Reginald Crawford, in 1939, after being in business for a while, Mrs. Wheeler moved the Jim Walker Store from its location adjacent to her store. Workers came and placed the building on logs and rolled it across the street next to the existing store. After Mrs. Wheeler died, her son-in-law, J.A. Crawford, daughter, Gladys Wheeler Crawford, grandson, J. Reginald Crawford, and granddaughter, Wylda Crawford, ran the store. At this time it was called the Jim Crawford Store. Many folks gathered at the store to visit, play washers or to turn the wooden chairs over and use as a prop to take a nap in the afternoon, In 1969, after the store closed, the buildings were torn down and the lumber sold.
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