Courtesy Photo Elwood School (above) is scheduled to be moved from northwest Van Zandt County to near Moore's Store in downtown Ben Wheeler this month. The building will house a museum and community center. BEN WHEELER - A 92- year-old schoolhouse in northwestern Van Zandt County will be moved here and converted into a museum and community center as Brooks Gremmels continues to redevelop the unincorporated town.

"It is a four-room, woodframe schoolhouse, and is one of two left in Van Zandt County," Gremmels said. "We will move it here in four pieces, and it willl be reassembled between Moore’s Store and the water company."

The school was known as Ellis Chapel before it was renamed Elwood in 1917, when it was consolidated with Woodall School. The other still-standing schoolhouse is in Pleasant Glade, about 20 miles southwest of Canton.

"That school has been given to us, and we’re going to use it for a museum," Gremmels said. "We hope to have community meetings there and use it for anything else the community deems appropriate."

It should take about 30 days to complete the move, expected to begin this month.

"We’ll have to set it back on blocks and put it back together. Thankfully, it is in good condition. If you don’t preserve these things, they are lost to history. The way we see it now, the museum is going to be a repository for artifacts from throughout Van Zandt County. We would like it to be a living experience."

The Van Zandt Historical Commission is involved in the project. It will apply for a historical marker to commemorate the structure's history once the move is complete, Gremmels said.

And like other museums, this one will feature loaned exhibits and donated and purchased items.

"It won’t just be a static display," Gremmels said.

The museum will be added to a revitalized downtown. Nearly two years into a project spearheaded by his Ben Wheeler Development Company, Moore’s Store has been reopened as a family restaurant that features live entertainment several times a week, and five other stores have also opened or are set to open on County Road 279 - Flying Fish Gallery, Harrison & Sons Knifesmith, Sojourn Gallery, Whimzee, and Antiques & Texas Heritage.

Whimzee and Antiques & Texas Heritage are opening across CR 279 from Moore’s Store in what is now called the Rave building. A third tenant, artist Brent Hale, is expected to open a gallery.

"We’ve tried to liven up that building and make it stand out," Gremmels said. "That sign used to say ’Ravel,’ and I took off the ’l.’ I’ve been trying to put a country market in that third space but haven’t been able to find a grocer. So Brent Hale is going to open a gallery over there of car art. He does fantastic work."

Gremmels’ redevelopment started with a single initiative: Renovate and re- open Moore’s Store. Almost immediately, landowners approached Ben Wheeler Development Company about selling their properties.

Since, Gremmels has acquired about 40 acres in and around downtown for nearly $3 million.

The assets include seven acres where a park and lake will be built; old houses that will be refurbished and turned into bed and breakfasts; the Happy Trails Cafe on State Highway 64 that will serve "cowboy food." When the downtown work is complete, building restoration, park recreation, monuments, bridges, pedestrian paths, and lighting design will have been integrated to create a new Ben Wheeler.

Gremmels said the new Moore’s Store is doing better than expected, and that he’s enjoying every moment of the town’s revitalization.

"This is the most fun thing in the world. I just love it. I’m having a blast."

Originally named Clough, Ben Wheeler was settled in the early 19th century and renamed after the Kentucky native who carried mail to the community, in 1878.

Visit benwheelertx.com. Hale’s bio and portfolio are at brenthale.com.