Wheatville, named for pioneer settler William Wheat, began as a rest stop/general store on a main road to Jefferson (40 mi. SE) in the 1840s. During the 1850s a cotton gin, grist mill, school, and church were established here. A post office was opened in 1868. The first recorded burial in the community cemetery was that of John S. Sheppard in 1863. The town declined in the 1880s as businesses and residents moved to the new railroad town of Naples (3 mi. S). Wheatville native Morris Sheppard (1875-1941) served as U. S. Senator from 1913-1941. The graveyard continues to serve the area. (1994)