From Milking Stall to Museum

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"Sant" Miller Barn was built around 1890 by an Athens attorney, Edwin Payne "Sant" Miller. The barn, originally located on their family farm in Athens, was used for milking cows on one side and served as a corn crib on the other. The products of this barn were used for the family's needs as well as trading or selling. 

The barn is well-equipped with antique implements -- items that were actually used on farms during the time that structures like this thrived. Along with farming tools of the trade, the barn also houses old photographs found and restored from the Henderson and Cherokee County Historical Commissions. The photographs depict East Texas residents and typical life on a farm during that time.

Restoration of the barn honors Dr. Bob Preston Foster, a local dentist for over four decades. Raised on a farm in Jacksonville, Foster and his wife moved to Athens in 1964, where they raised five children. This project commemorated his seventieth birthday and pays tribute to the hard work and integrity of farming families, giving a glimpse into the agrarian lifestyle slowly fading from the landscape of East Texas.

The barn was donated to the East Texas Arboretum by daughter Janice Miller and dedicated on June 15, 2008. ​