The Wheeler Train Depot and Post Office was a major part of the everyday life in the small town of Wheeler, Alabama. There were daily stops and departures from all across the US for passengers as well as cargo. Like most depots there were loading and unloading docks beside most stations and Wheeler's was mainly cotton. 

Each fall you would see workers loading the cotton that was raised on the 17,000 acre farm. Most cotton bales were pressed with hydraulic presses and usually weighed around 500lb. These bales would be delivered to the bigger towns throughout the south and up north. 

The passenger train, the Hummingbird and known locally as the Joe Wheeler, would pass thru the small town on a daily schedule at a speed of 60 miles per hour.  Each day you could see people coming and going to pick up or deliver the mail. Most days you could see Courtland Postmaster, C.A. Turner (Albert), making his daily route delivering the Wheeler mail to Courtland in the early mornings. In the late afternoon he could be seen on his way home pumping his railroad handcar along the tracks back to Wheeler where he lived. 

There is no doubt that Wheeler's growth was elevated by the Post Office and Railroad Station. This was a vital part of this once thriving southern town.