Maryland State Senator Mike Miller passed away on January 15th. For 33 years, he served as president of the Maryland Senate, the longest tenure in that position in a state legislature in U.S. history. Senator Miller was also a life member and avid supporter of the Surratt Society and the Surratt House Museum. He was a native of Clinton, MD, where, as a teenager, he worked at the general store (B. K. Miller's) founded by his grandfather directly across the street from the Surratt House, property that the Miller family owned. At the time, the Surratt House was an abandoned farmhouse slated for demolition. Senator Miller was instrumental in the acquisition of the property by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and preservation of the House, which opened as a museum in 1976.

According to The Washington Post: "Mr. Miller, who regarded himself as the curator of State House history, hung portraits on his office walls.... He also had a rendering of the trial of Mary Surratt, a Clinton native and a co-conspirator in President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. 'Somebody could walk into my office and say, "Why is that picture on your wall?"' Mr. Miller said in an interview. 'Because of my love of history, I'm not politically correct. But, you know, they were products of their times. They're products of history.'"

RIP Mike Miller.

(01-16-2021 12:52 PM)wpbinzel Wrote:  Maryland State Senator Mike Miller passed away on January 15th. For 33 years, he served as president of the Maryland Senate, the longest tenure in that position in a state legislature in U.S. history. Senator Miller was also a life member and avid supporter of the Surratt Society and the Surratt House Museum. He was a native of Clinton, MD, where, as a teenager, he worked at the general store (B. K. Miller's) founded by his grandfather directly across the street from the Surratt House, property that the Miller family owned. At the time, the Surratt House was an abandoned farmhouse slated for demolition. Senator Miller was instrumental in the acquisition of the property by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and preservation of the House, which opened as a museum in 1976.

According to The Washington Post: "Mr. Miller, who regarded himself as the curator of State House history, hung portraits on his office walls.... He also had a rendering of the trial of Mary Surratt, a Clinton native and a co-conspirator in President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. 'Somebody could walk into my office and say, "Why is that picture on your wall?"' Mr. Miller said in an interview. 'Because of my love of history, I'm not politically correct. But, you know, they were products of their times. They're products of history.'"

RIP Mike Miller.

As a former Maryland resident for many years and growing up in PG County, I well remember Mr. Miller's name. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for what he did to save the Surratt House. I surely would like to see the image of the Surratt trial which hung in his office. Products of history and their times indeed. I'll bet he and Laurie are having some interesting discussions. May he rest in peace.

I am pleased to report that the Executive Committee of the Surratt Society voted unanimously to make a donation to the Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., Center for Leadership at the College of Southern Maryland, as suggested by the Miller family. In a letter composed by Tom Buckingham, treasurer of the Surratt Society, Mike was honored as a life member of the Society, and as "avid supporter of the Surratt House Museum" who "was instrumental in the acquisition of the Surratt House, the Visitors Center, and the James O. Hall Research Center." If you would like to make a donation in honor of Senator Miller, the address is: CSM Foundation, La Plata Campus, P.O. Box 910, La Plata, MD 20646.

Thank you for posting this.