Henry S. Miller Company

Henry S. Miller Company is one of the largest independent brokerage and property management firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Founded in 1919, the business and the metroplex seemed to grow together. In a 1999 editorial naming the leading 20 Dallasites of the 20th Century, Henry S. Miller was called "the master of real estate brokerage." [Pederson, Rena. "The 20th-Century 20," The Dallas Morning News March 7, 1999, p. 2J.]

The company was founded by Henry S. Miller, Sr., who had worked in retail and real estate prior to venturing out on his own. The one-man business had offices in the Southland Life Insurance Building in downtown Dallas. In the 1930s, Henry S. Miller, Jr. joined the business and helped it diversify into insurance. The father and son formed an official partnership during World War II. [ [http://www.henrysmiller.com/history/ History of Henry S. Miller ] ]

In 1960, the company was incorporated and continued growing. Henry S. Miller, Jr. was named its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He is credited with providing the leadership for the company's continued diversification. [Hall, Cheryl. "Lessons from business legends, The Dallas Morning News December 25, 2005, p. 22A.] The portfolio of services included property-management, office and shopping center leasing, as well as industrial property leasing. In 1961 and 1962, the company posted record-breaking sales. In 1961 alone, its sales were more than $15 million. ["Miller Company Breaks Records, Dallas Times Herald, July 28, 1960.]

From 1970 until 1977, Roger Staubach, then the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, worked for the company in the off-season. (He went on to a career in commercial real estate after his retirement from sports.) [ [http://www.staubach.com/AboutStaubach/history.asp Staubach.com - History ] ]

Example projects included high-profile properties such as Highland Park Village, Preston Royal, and Richland Plaza shopping center. Clients included a wide variety of professional and retail firms such as Wyatt's Cafeterias. [ [http://www.henrysmiller.com/history/ History of Henry S. Miller ] ] The company also provided services free of charge to non-profit agencies in the Dallas area including the Red Cross, the YMCA, and the Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children. [ [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/MM/fmi65.html Handbook of Texas Online - MILLER, HENRY S., SR ] ] Additionally, the family was active in many other civic projects. The Dallas Morning News's Rena Pederson described Henry and Juanita Miller as "stalwart" patrons of the arts in the community. Without their stewardship, there would not have been a Dallas Opera." [Pederson, Rena. "The 20th-Century 20," The Dallas Morning News March 7, 1999, p. 2J.]

The company merged with another real estate firm in the 1980s, but the family bought back Henry S. Miller Co., Realtors. The company then had 26 offices in cities in Texas including Austin and Houston. In March 1994, Henry S. Miller Commercial Co. was launched as a full service real estate company, which also had a significant base in the residential real estate market. By 1996, it was the second largest Texas firm, after Ebby Halliday Realtors, and was ranked 29th in the nation by a Real Trends survey, based on its 1995 home sales transactions. [Brown, Steve. "D-FW brokers find strength in mergers," The Dallas Morning News, May 31, 1996, p 2D.] It is the largest independent real estate brokerage services firm in Texas. [ [http://www.henrysmiller.com/history/ History of Henry S. Miller ] ]

"My wonderful family has taken over the legacy that my father began the year I was born," said Henry S. Miller, Jr. in a 2005 interview with the The Dallas Morning News [Hall, Cheryl. "Lessons from business legends, The Dallas Morning News December 25, 2005, p. 22A.] "The established goal for them, as it was for me, is to continue the Henry S. Miller legacy for generations to come with the level of integrity on which it was founded. I carried the legacy to the best of my ability, and now it is their turn. It's not an unfinished goal but an infinite goal."

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