Miller’s Mark on Albemarle
A photo of the Miller School in Albemarle, courtesy of the Boarding School Review.
If you’ve lived in Charlottesville for a couple years, you’ve probably wondered: why are there so many things named after “Miller”? There’s the Miller School, located in the Samuel Miller Loop, and Southwestern Albemarle County even has a Samuel Miller Magisterial District. Although the facts about Samuel Miller’s life are somewhat scattered and uncertain, here’s what I found out:
Samuel Miller was born in Albemarle County in 1792. Raised by his mother, he lived a humble life in the mountains with his older brother, John. They studied in the county’s common school (essentially our public school), where Samuel worked just as hard as he did at the farm at home. After his schooling was complete, John moved to Lynchburg and opened up a grocery (Daily Progress). Samuel began teaching, showing an early commitment to investing in others’ education just as fiercely as he invested in his own (Crozet Gazette). Once John was financially stable enough, Samuel joined him in Lynchburg, where they became successful businessmen (Whitehead). In 1814, the two purchased a farm outside of Batesville, where they moved their mother. Ever mindful, the Miller sons asked local merchant Nicholas Page to make sure her daily needs would be provided for and to inform the brothers of anything else their mother might require (Crozet Gazette).
In 1841, both Samuel’s mother and brother passed away. Samuel continued to live in Lynchburg, inheriting and investing his brother’s assets. By trading goods such as tobacco, Miller amassed a huge profit, gradually building his estate until it totaled $2,250,000 (Daily Progress). According to online inflation calculators, if Miller’s estate was this large near the end of his life in the 1860s, it would be worth approximately $40 million in today’s currency. Lynchburg biographer R. Colston Blackford speculated Miller was one of the “ten richest men in the United States” (Crozet Times).
As one of the richest men in Virginia and the South at large, what did Miller do with all his money? Although “reclusive and frugal in his personal life” Miller was known in his resident town of Lynchburg for his generosity and community investment (Historical Marker). Miller’s main focus was funding educational programs. In 1859, Miller’s will endowed the Miller Manual-Labor School of Albemarle, now known as the Miller School of Albemarle. Miller passed away in 1869, and Page took over as executor of his estate, beginning the arduous process that would finally produce the school Miller intended. The Virginia Legislature passed the act to approve the Miller School as of February 24, 1874 (Whitehead). The first students, a class of 20, enrolled in 1878 (Whitehead). By the 1891-1892 term, 173 boys and 93 girls were in attendance (Whitehead). While The Miller School was one of his most visible endowments, Miller also provided funds to establish the Lynchburg Female Orphan Asylum. Another one of his large donations was to our very own University of Virginia. Looking through the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors Minutes from September 16th, 1869, I came across discussion about the Miller Trust, which Samuel provided to the university to establish a new School of Experimental and Practical Agriculture (BOV Minutes). This appears to be just one of his many contributions to the university community.
Regardless of his philanthropic efforts, it appears Miller was not widely known outside of his small Virginia circle. A Daily Progress article circa 1900 details the life of Miller through the eyes of Nicholas Page, friend and executor of his estate: “Probably you would have never heard of [Samuel Miller]…but there are hundreds of men, yes thousands, who have received manual training at the school Samuel Miller established” (Daily Progress). Although it has undergone many changes overtime, the Miller School is still in use today as a boarding and day school.
“Board of Visitors Minutes: September 16, 1869.” Board of Visitors Minutes, University of Virginia Library, xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=2006_06/uvaGenText/tei/ bov_18690916.xml&chunk. id=d3&toc.id=&brand=default.
“HISTORY.” Miller School of Albemarle, millerschoolofalbemarle.org/history/.
“Michael Marshall.” The Crozet Gazette, 4 June 2015, www.crozetgazette.com/2015/06/04/secrets-of-the-blue-ridge-batesville-on-the-old- plank-road/.
“Samuel Miller - Lynchburg - VA - US.” Historical Marker Project, Historical Marker Project, 2014, www.historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM1YYQ_samuel-miller_Lynchburg- VA.html.
Strider, Robert. “Samuel Miller House.” Clio, 19 Mar. 2017, www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=34510.
Whitehead, T. Virginia: a Handbook: Giving Its History, Climate, and Mineral Wealth, Its Educational, Agricultural and Industrial Advantages. Waddey, 1893.
“Miller School of Albemarle .” Boarding School Review, Boarding School Review LLC, Charlottesville, 2013, xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=2006_06/uvaGenText/tei/bov_18690916.xml&chunk. id=d3&toc.id=&brand=default.