Milam Park

E J Milam Jr.jpg

E.J. Milam Jr. Courtesy of Denton County Office of History

and Culture, Denton Record-Chronicle Collection.

Ernest John Milam Jr. (1912-1974)

The City of Denton purchased land in the Singing Oaks Addition from Jerry Simmons in 1976 with the intention of using that land as a neighborhood park. The following year the Park Board recommended the park be named for the first Black Park Board member, Ernest John Milam Jr.

Born to Ernest John Milam and Fannie Walker Milam in 1912, E.J. Milam Jr. served as a member of the Park Board from 1964-1967 and again from 1970-1972. Milam also served as Secretary for the Joppa Masonic Lodge No. 62 and was employed by North Texas State University (University of North Texas) for 32 years before his passing in 1974.

The E.J. Milam Memorial Scholarship Endowment was set up in his name by the North Texas chapter of the Texas Public Employees Associaition of which Milam was a charter member. Funds for the endowment were financed by voluntary contributions and it is still listed as a scholarship opportunity for full-time undergraduate students at the University of North Texas.

The elder Milam was a member of the Denton Chamber of Commerce, ran the "shoe-shine department" at Barney Flanagin's Barber Shop on Fry Street above Dyche's Corner Restaurant and cut hair in Fred Moore's barbershop beneath the Denton County National Bank on the square.

E.J. Milam Jr. and Francis Milam

E.J. Milam Jr. (left) and brother Francis Milam. University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Oral History Program.

EJ Milam Sr and Fannie Walker Milam.jpg

Ernest John Milam Sr. and wife, Fannie Walker Milam. University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Oral History Program.

Milam Park Sign - 1982.JPG

E.J. Milam Park, 1982. Parks and Recreation Department Collection, Denton Municipal Archives.

Milam Park 1982.jpg

Playground at E.J. Milam Park, 1982. Parks and Recreation Department Collection, Denton Municipal Archives.

Sources:

  • "Resolution regarding acquisition of land for street and capial improvements on Carroll Blvd and McKinney." February 17, 1976.
  • Denton Record-Chronicle. August 17, 1976.
  • 1976-1977 Annual Report, Department of Parks and Recreation, City of Denton Texas.
  • "Resolution: E.J. Milam." August 22, 1967.
  • "Funeral Services Set for University Employee," The North Texas Daily. April 2, 1974.
  • "Center Holds Surprise Party to Honor 13," The North Texas Daily. March 17, 1972.
  • "From barber to professor," Denton Record-Chronicle. February 18, 2018.
  • Advertisement, The Campus Chat. February 5, 1924.
  • "Classified List of Members of Denton Chamber of Commerce," Denton Record-Chronicle. November 8, 1919.
  • "Schedule of Endowment and Similar Funds," Financial Report of the University of Texas. University of North Texas Special Collections. August 31, 2001.