Comfort Allen McMillen (1818‐1914) Biography presented by Principal George King November 10, 2011 ‐ McMillen High School Dedication Born in Arkansas in 1818, Comfort Allen McMillen married Lydia Maxwell. Together, they traveled in 1845 to Texas, arriving in the area in 1846, along with Sachse, Lewis, Mitchell, Marshall, Strain and Woods families, settling on the banks of a muddy creek, now named Maxwell Creek. They built and developed a robust farming community, first named Old Decator, then Maxwell Creek and now Murphy. Born in the same generation as our U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, C.A. McMillen bears many of the same traits as the president. He was known as a virtuous man, and for his hard work ethic and his devotion to wife Lydia and their six children and great grandchildren. In later years, when his eyesight began to fail, he would often have the grandchildren read the Bible and then correct them when they stumbled. He was famous for his acuity with his memorization of the Bible. He was characterized by his forbearance from worldliness and frivolity. His family described him as pious in spirit with temperance from recreational matters. Instead, his heart and soul, energy and wealth were focused on the development on civilization in this prairie wilderness. In fact, large tracts of his land were given to the town of Murphy so that industry could be developed. Additionally, land was given to the Corinth Presbyterian Church, where he was a founding, charter member—a church that now proudly resides on Parker Road just north of McMillen High School. How proud his family must be of the legacy he left. This was a man who lived 96 years, the oldest man in Collin County at one time, who bridged two centuries of U.S. history on his passing in 1914. His legacy of hard work and vision for building the future makes McMillen High School a perfect reflection of its namesake; traditional in design on the outside with 21st century in abundance on the inside. ###