Mr. McMillian moved to Palm Beach Florida in 1981 and became a legal secretary for the infamous Woolworth Family. In 1989, when the Savings and Loan Banks went “belly up”, Don had to become an expert witness in a legal lawsuit. By 1991 he was broke, having sustained himself for those 18 months on his savings. He later had to file a law suit against the Woolworth-Donahue family to recover only a small portion of his back-pay.

Mr. McMillian begin writing ”The House of Woolworth, Their Stunning Financial Windfalls, Their riveting Emotional Pitfalls” in 1989. It was a 17 year labor of love, with thousands of hours spent doing research, interviews, and collecting over 130 historical photographs never before seen by the public. This 330 page book was finally published in 2006.

In 1991, Mr. McMillian returned home to Huntington WV due to his mothers’ illness and her need to have family close by. It changed his path in life forever. There were few Interior Design jobs in Huntington. Don donated time to the Cabell County Commission to prepare special State and Federal Grants to repair the building and clock tower for its 100th anniversary, researching the history of Huntington and Cabell County in the process.

After the Grant research was completed, Don continued to spend many hours in the special collections section of the Cabell County Public Library on 9th Street, seeking to discover our region’s hidden history. Much to his surprise he could only find one book, titled “The Annals of Cabell County” by George Seldon Wallace. He also found out that his grandmother Alice Edna Ferguson was Mr. Wallace’s administrative assistant. There was also a distinct lack of detail on local early architecture and design. Further, Don was constantly discovering material on the Civil War and the many families who participated in it, both Union and Confederate.

So, in 1992, Mr. McMillian began seriously researching local historic homes, buildings, and families of the region, collecting photographs and personal histories along the way. Don also discovered a treasure trove of data on the Underground Railroad. Later, he made a special trip to the $20 million Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinati, Ohio only to discover there was no mention of Lawrence County, Ohio or Cabell County Virginia.

This 12 year project lead to the creation of several books: “Huntington, WV: Images of America“, published in 2003; “On The Threshold of Splendor: Historic Homes & Families“, published in 2007; and “The Underground Railroad: Lawrence County, Ohio and Cabell County, Virginia“, published in 2008.

Currently, Mr. McMillian is completing a book titled “The Very Best: West Virginia’s 55 Counties”, which focuses on our State’s rich and diverse cultural history and should be available late this summer.

Don Daniel McMillian’s books are available on Amazon.com, and locally at: Love’s Hardware; La Cook Store; Richard’s Hall Mark; and Stadium Book Store.