A pioneering healthcare provider in Dallas, Dr. Walter R. McMillan (1873-1958) was born in Quitman (Wood County) to James McMillan and Jane Regan-McMillan. He attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, concentrating in obstetrics. After graduating in 1909, Dr. McMillan moved to Dallas to start his own practice, sharing an office with attorney J.L. Turner Sr. He met and married Meirriell Vain Thomas (1892-1967). The marriage produced two sons, Walter C. and Marion. His four children from a previous marriage to Aria Brinkley, Walter, Lillie May, Xenophon and Ollie Lee, joined the couple in Dallas. Ollie Lee followed her father into medicine, becoming the first African American nurse to be hired by Parkland Hospital in 1931. During the Jim Crow Era, African Americans faced significant discrimination in the healthcare field, whether as patients or staff. Dallas’ existing medical facilities for African Americans were overloaded. Seeing the need, Dr. McMillan sought to expand healthcare opportunities. In 1923, he opened McMillan Sanitarium, a two-story building housing doctor’s offices, surgical complex and insurance offices, in addition to other businesses. Along with serving patients, McMillan Sanitarium allowed Dr. McMillan to mentor African American doctors, surgeons and nurses on staff before establishing practices of their own, with notable examples including Dr. L.G. Pinkston, Dr. W.K. Flowers, Dr. William Green and Dr. Samuel L. Brown. In addition to medical interests, Dr. McMillan was active in the civic arena. He was a trustee of St. Paul Methodist Church on Routh Street and helped to develop the Moorland Branch of the YMCA. As one of a handful of practicing African American doctors, Walter McMillan was an influential healthcare provider in the city of Dallas.
Dr. Walter Ree McMillan
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Dr. Walter Ree McMillan is a historical marker in Dallas, Dallas County, dedicated in 2023. It is one of 352 historical markers documented in Dallas County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 574 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 32.8003, -96.7947 near Dallas. The nearest cataloged historic site is Calvary (cemetery), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Freedmans Memorial Park, Freedman's Cemetery, and Greenwood.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5000023889. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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