The Dallas Journal, Volume 43, 1997 Page: 16
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out to fight.13 However, he was such a strong supporter that it was necessary, at the end
of the war, for him to receive a pardon from the President of the United States for
"taking part in the late rebellion against the Government of the United States." This
pardon was issued by President Andrew Johnson on Dec. 8, 1865, and signed by Will H.
Seward, Secretary of State.
Miller took a leading part in the development of post-Civil War Dallas. In 1871,
he helped organize and became the first president of the North Texas Agricultural,
Mechanical and Blood Stock Association, forerunner of the present State Fair of
Texas.14 He gave 10 acres of land, which he had bought out of the John Grigsby league,
for exhibition grounds. The location today is Gaston, Hall and Junius streets - a part of
Baylor University Hospital and Medical Center.
Miller exhibited the first registered bull in this section of Texas at the 1872 fair,
and the only race horse, the latter named Jack Hardy.
In preparation for Dallas' first railroad, he supplied cedar for ties and bridging for
the Houston & Texas Central, on its arrival July 16, 1872.
In March of that year, Mr. Miller became a director, along with A. C. Camp, W.
H. Gaston, G. M. Swink, Dr. J. W. Crowdus and Mrs. Sarah H. Cockrell, in building the
first bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas. This was an $87,000 toll bridge at the west
end of Commerce Street. It was purchased by the county and converted to a free bridge
in 1883.
William Brown Miller continued to be a leader in the community until the end of
his life. He continued to breed fine horses and cattle. For as long as possible, he would
never let anyone else break his colts, fearing that they might be ruined by a careless
trainer. He always owned fine carriage horses and preferred to drive them himself. 15 He
also liked to make his own fires in the big fireplaces at Millermore; others could bring in
the wood and kindling, but no one else could make a fire to suit him. He wanted no one
to touch the fire except himself after it was made.
Family members lived in the house until 1966. Through the years the home was
updated and renovated several times. The facade of the house experienced two changes
after Mr. Miller's original design in 1862.16 Originally, the facade had a simple Doric
portico, typical of the Greek Revival style, as an entrance. In the late 1870's or early
1880's this portico was changed to a more fashionably (for that time) wide, one-storyDGS Journal 16 1977
DGS Journal
16
1977
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Dallas Genealogical Society. The Dallas Journal, Volume 43, 1997, periodical, June 1997; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth186856/m1/22/?rotate=270: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Genealogical Society.