279 Artisans Trail is a combined effort of artists and businesses along Farm Road 279 between Edom and Ben Wheeler, Texas, dedicated to the promotion of arts and culture through education, entertainment, community interaction, and trade.

Currently along the trail are 11 artist shops, representing close to 50 artists, several antique stores, fresh farm produce, three nurseries/ garden centers, a motorcycle/ice cream shop, several music venues, two clothing stores, one bed & breakfast, one spa service, and four restaurants.

Edom established itself as an arts community years ago. The town formed in 1855 and quickly became a major stopover site for lumberjacks, freighters, traders and cattle drives. By the 1860s, its roads were lined with churches and saloons, as well as a wagon factory, sawmill, hotel, leather-goods shop, tannery, school and cemetery. Farming flourished as the community grew and by 1914, the community had added four general stores and a cotton gin.

The mid to latter twentieth century saw many rural communities, including Edom, shrink as people left for the cities.

In 1971, though, potter Doug Brown opened a shop downtown and soon other artists purchased several old buildings along Farm Road 279 and they established the annual Edom Festival of the Arts that has helped turn the town into a regional draw.

Ben Wheeler, first settled in the 1840s, followed the same basic curve of growth and decline and renewal. The renewal began a few years ago when retired businessman Brooks Gremmels and his wife, Rese, started the Ben Wheeler Arts & Historic District Foundation and began to restore old buildings and turn them into restaurants and shops with the intention of returning the town to its 1935 look, to bring new businesses, and to inspire a new community-friendly attitude and sense of pride back into the area through events, festivities, and other social projects.

279 Artisans Trail holds and participates in regulary scheduled events throughout the year including Second Saturday Art Jams every month, the Edom Festival of the Arts in October and the Ben Wheeler Arts & Historic District Foundation's Fall Feral Hog Festival also in October.

The "artisans" part of the group's name implies sharing and teaching. There will be demonstrations, classes, and workshops during the Art Jams and also throughout the month at various locations.

For more information on 279 Artisans Trail's Second Saturday Art Jam, call 903.833.5743. Learn more about Edom at www.visitedom.com and Ben Wheeler at www.benwheelertx.com.