Philip S. Miller 

Philip S. Miller was a leading businessman and philanthropist in Castle Rock. The trust funds he established continue to benefit many local entities, each of which enriches the lives of Douglas County's residents. 

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Businesses

1920 -- Opened the Miller and Faber Meat Market, later called the Castle Rock Meat Market

 

1928 -- Opened a feed and coal business at 413 Wilcox St. Also bought and sold cattle. 

 

1939 -- Opened The Bank of Douglas County. (The word "The" is always capitalized to distinguish this bank from an earlier Bank of Douglas County that had been in Parker.) The Bank is remarkable for the fact that the majority of the loans it awarded were for agricultural purposes, which other banks viewed as too risky. 

 

1943 -- Began to raise shorthorn cattle. 

 

1950 -- Opened the P.S. Miller Insurance Agency in the Bank's lobby. 

 

1993 -- Retired as President and Director of The Bank of Douglas County. 

 

Town of Castle Rock 

1921+ -- Served as a member of the Board of Trustees (an early form of the Town Council) for Castle Rock

 

1922 -- The Board of Trustees contracted with the E.I. DuPont De Nemours Company in Louviers to supply electricity to CR. This wasn't popular due to the expense involved, and there was subsequently a boycott by some residnets of Miller's butcher shop. 

 

1928 -- Returned to the Board of Trustees, filling the term of a deceased member. He was involved in the "authorization to construct, operate, and maintain an electric lighting and power plant in Castle Rock."  This time around, electrification was a move popular with the residents. The utility, Commonwealth Utilities, served CR and the surrounding areas until 1944, when it was acquired by IREA. 

 

1928-1930s  -- The Board of Trustees introduced a preliminary order for the establishment of Castle Rock Sanitary Sewer District #1. 

 

1980 -- Miller donated to the Town of Castle Rock the water rights from 204 acres of his ranch. 

 

1980 -- The number of businesses in CR now numbered 550-600, most of them having been financed by the Bank. 

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Douglas County Fair

1940s -- With other local figures, Miller worked to create a combined rodeo, horse show, and chariot race to replace the County Fair, which had been cancelled due to the war. 

 

1946 -- After the Fair was cancelled, this time due to a polio outbreak, Miller spearheaded fundraising efforts to support the re-establishment of the Fair. Miller believed strongly that that the children of the county should have a chance to learn about animals by raising and feeding livestock and then displaying and selling them at the Fair. 

 

1959 -- The first Douglas County 4H Livestock sale. Miller bought the first Grand-Champion Hog, beginning his tradition of raising the bids and often buying the animals himself. He would then donate the animal back to the be-auctioned, with the second purchase going to the 4-H scholarship fund. 

 

1964 -- Donated money for supplies to construct Kirk Hall on the fairgrounds. 

 

Castle Rock and Douglas County Libraries

1967 -- The Douglas County Commissioners adopted a Resolution for the establishment of the Douglas County Public Library. The Millers gave a letter to the newly-established Board of Trustees for the Library announcing their donation of $25,000 toward the construction of a library (311 Third St.)

 

1988 -- He donated $510,000 to the Library to retire the remaining debt of the new building (on S. Plum Creek Blvd.), requesting that the name be officially the "Philip S. Miller Library" and that the debt be retired as soon as possible. Mr. Miller was 92 and wanted to have it paid off during his lifetime. 

 

From 1967 to 1988, the Millers gave over $700,000 to the county's libraries. 

 

He was twice honored by the Colorado Library Association as Library Benefactor of the Year. (1985 and 1990) 

 

The Miller Charitable Trust

1980 -- The Millers established the Miller Charitable Trust (over $30 million) to manage The Bank and their estate after their deaths. They had no children to pass their estate on to, but more importantly, they wanted to make certain that the town, the county, and the people would receive monetary benefits, every year. Beneficiaries include the County, the town of Castle Rock, Douglas County Libraries, Douglas County High School (in the form of a scholarship), the Douglas County Fair, and the Douglas County 4-H Club. 

 

 

On the fortieth anniversary of The Bank of Douglas County (1979), Jim Adkins, the editor of the Douglas County News Press wrote that the most formidable accomplishments of Philip S. Miller were the Bank and the Library. He went on to say that two of the most important things to Mr. Miller were good economic health for the community and progressive development.  Miller's biographer, Debbie Buboltz-Bodle, wrote that "One of Mr. Miller's greatest pleasures was knowing that he had helped somebody 'get started.' He was proud of the contributions that the Bank made toward the development of the business community."