Marcus A. Milam

M.A. Milam
Born Marcus Alexander Milam
(1876-03-08)March 8, 1876
Paris, Tennessee, U.S.
Died May 6, 1940(1940-05-06) (aged 64)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death Heart attack
Occupation President of Milam Dairy Farm, Inc.
Years active 1909 – 1940
Spouse(s) Omega W. Milam (m. 1907-1940; his death)
Children Marcus A. Milam, Jr.
Mary Wells Milam
Ellen Omega Milam
Alpha Railey Milam

Marcus Alexander Milam, Sr. (March 8, 1876 – May 6, 1940) was a Miami-based pioneer and businessman, who established a successful Florida dairy farm.

Early life

Milam was born on March 8, 1876, in Paris, Tennessee, before immigrating to Florida in 1881, at the age of five.[1][2]

Milam married Omega Wigginton on September 18, 1907.[3]

Career

He opened his first dairy farm in Northwest Miami-Dade County in 1909, before organizing the Milam Dairy Farm in 1920. Milam found success as a dairy tycoon and pioneer during the early 20th-century Florida land boom.[4][5] In 1929, it was documented that Milam's dairy ventures led several Dade county youth to successful livelihood paths.[6]

Aside from his dairy business ventures, Milam was a junior partner of Railey-Milam Hardware Co., and had collaborated with Gaston Drake to organize the Drake Lumber Company.[7]

Death and Legacy

Milam died of a heart attack, on May 6, 1940.[8]

His spouse, Omega W. Milam, died on April 21, 1946.[9]

The Dressel Brothers purchased the Milam Dairy in 1941, renaming it Dressel's Dairy.[10]

Milam would become the namesake of Florida State Road 969, which is locally known as Milam Dairy Road. Additionally, in 1961, an elementary school in Hialeah was built on his grounds that were used as pasture land, and named after him.[11] The school expanded to become a K-8 institution in 1998.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Marcus Alexander Milam Ancestry Records". Ancestry.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ "M.A. Milam K-8 Center Parent-Student Handbook 2013 - 2014" (PDF). dadeschools.net. 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Milam Genealogy Data". Milam.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ World Agricultural: Journal of Information and Opinion on the ..., Volumes 1-5. April 1926. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ McRae, W. A.; Rose, R. E. (January 1, 1922). Bulletin - Florida Dept of Agriculture, Volume 32. Florida Dept. of Agriculture. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Start in Life Due to Milam Boy Calf Club". The Miami News. December 8, 1929. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  7. ↑ Ballinger, Kenneth (1936). Miami Millions: The Dance of the Dollars in the Great Florida Land Boom of 1925 (PDF). The Franklin Press, Inc. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Miami Pioneer Dies Suddenly; Rites Tomorrow". The Miami News. May 7, 1940. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Mrs. M.A. Milam Burial Tomorrow". The Miami News. April 22, 1946. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  10. ↑ Boyd, Don. "1963 - aerial view of Dressel's Dairy (Milam Dairy until 1941) on Milam Dairy Road". PBase. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  11. ↑ Cohen, Howard (February 10, 2014). "Miami settler, dairy executive Mary Wells Milam dies at 91". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
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