By Carol Powell 

Sometime in the late 1860s, Clara S. Olmstead Howard, a widow with children, met Louis Miller, an immigrant from Germany. They met and were married in Texas, where seven more children were born, including the sons who were destined to go on the become Arizona railroad men; two of them lost their lives on the trains.

The Miller children were born in Texas, but something drew the family even further west, and by 1884, they were on their way to Arizona. The father of the family, Louis Miller, never made it to Fort Huachuca. He became a statistic in the Indian wars, being killed by marauding Apaches. The wagon train the family was traveling with left Clara and her family on their own when they couldn't keep up. Another group of Indians found them and took them on into Phoenix. The family stayed in Phoenix for a few years, and then moved to Prescott in 1892. 

Railroads came early to Prescott, then the Territorial Capitol of Arizona, beginning with the Prescott and Arizona Central Railroad. Unfortunately, the P & AC Railroad did not do very well, due to overly high rates and a poor service record. When a promised Prescott-Phoenix extension failed to materialize, the way was open for a competitor to step in. And a competitor did soon appear when, in April of 1893, the Santa Fe, Prescott, & Phoenix Railroad pulled into town. It was the first north-south Arizona line, and the "Peavine," as it was known, made a huge impact on the lives of the Millers, as well as all Prescottonians, and became one of the main employers in town. The Santa Fe was a cohesive force, giving free passes, picnics and other social events, good salaries and job opportunities to the families of the men it employed. 

The Miller family took this opportunity to get a handle on the good life. Two of the brothers, William and Baldwin "Tobe" Miller, applied and were accepted as employees of the new railroad. William began his railroad career as a fireman, but he had ambition and worked his way up the hierarchy. By 1916, William had advanced; he had gone all the way up the ladder to Engineer for the Santa Fe. Both William and Baldwin Miller started working on the railroads in Prescott. While William spent the rest of his life in Arizona, Baldwin moved on to the state of Washington. 

Two other Miller brothers also worked for the railroads. Otto Miller worked for the newspapers for years until he succumbed to the lure of railroad life, and by 1916 had taken a job with the Santa Fe as a repairman and later as a foreman in his shop. He was apparently good at his job, as he eventually became Chief Car Whacker for the Union Pacific in L.A., where he lived until his death. 

Charles "Charley" Miller, a fourth brother, also began a railroading career in Prescott, but later moved to Washington with Baldwin. Pasco, Washington was a diversion point of the Great Northern Railroad. Charley had been an engineer but eventually became a trainmaster. Charley retired from the railroads and moved to California where he died. 

Baldwin moved up the ladder on the Great Northern, but his career with G.N. was cut short. While on a train crossing a trestle at Waukee, Washington, on the line of the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway, the Great Northern passenger #1 was detoured because of a rockslide in the Cascades and collided with a work train. The work train had been depositing gravel and was observed too late to permit the engineer to bring the train to a stop. As the engine crashed head-on into the work train, it leaped clear of the rails and Baldwin was thrown to his death. The train was immediately taken in tow by a locomotive sent to the scene. All passengers were safe when the train returned to Marshall Junction the night of October 28, 1913. 

In the meantime, William Miller stayed on the Peavine until he died at the throttle of a train. William died of a heart attack July 14, 1945, while working as an engineer of a S.F.P. & P. train. He was on a regular L.A.-Phoenix passenger run near Wickenburg. The train was traveling about 55 M.P.H. with William at the helm, when his fireman noticed that William had been stricken. He apparently died instantly. The fireman took the train on to Wickenburg, while the brakeman took over the job of firing the train. 

There was a fifth brother by the name of Louis Clair Miller (named after his father) who became infamous in the history of Prescott. The brothers who operated and maintained the railroads were not as famous as their outlaw brother. The rest of the Miller boys did not go down in Prescott History like their older brother, Louis C. Miller. Louis was a cohort to murder and served prison time in connection with Fleming "James" Parker, a man hanged for the murder of Lee Norris in June of 1898. But that is another story. 

For more information on outlaw Louis C. Miller, search the Days Past Database on www.sharlothallmuseum.org/archives. 

(Carol Powell is a historian for the Olmstead-Miller families.) 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(pb033f7i114)
Reuse only by permission.
The shop force of the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix Railway standing in front of Engine #16, c.1915. The railroad was a major employer in central Arizona, and provided jobs to pioneer families like the Millers.