The land Wheeler sits on was initially home to the Nehalem band of the Tillamook people, who lived in longhouse villages surrounding the bay until their forced relocation to the Coast Reservation in 1855. To native inhabitants, the area was known as Pukalni, meaning “hole in the sky.” This is due to the hills which surround Wheeler, keeping the sky sunny and free from the fog and mist that shrouds other areas of the Pacific Northwest coast. 

The town of Wheeler was founded by Coleman Wheeler, who came to the Oregon coast in the mid-1890s seeking to begin a logging business. After building a mill, Wheeler built several houses to attract workers, leading to a boost in population that led to the establishment of incorporated Wheeler in 1911, reaching nearly 800 residents in its peak in the 1920s. Around the same time, the commercial fishing industry was shifting from the Colombia River to the Oregon Coast. Two canneries opened in Wheeler, drawing Chinese immigrants who came for work, and gill net fishing in Nehalem Bay became a core part of the industry.

The Wheeler Mill and fish canneries were central to Wheeler’s economy in the beginning, but the town has evolved since. The Great Depression alongside the Tillamook Burn in the 1930s led to the closing of the lumber mill, causing a mass exodus of workers leaving for opportunity elsewhere, cutting Wheeler’s population in half. On the other hand, the 1956 fish conservation laws outlawing fishing methods outside hook and line closed the commercial fishing industry. However, outside of these industries the town began to gain a new draw– it’s historical architecture and coastal access.