TRADING POST

Milam is in Sabine County and located at the junction of Highway 87 and Highway 21. Milam is the home to the Causey House and the Gaines-Oliphint Houses, both log cabins. Its Nethery General Merchandise is the oldest continually-run business in Sabine County.The highway passing through Milam, Highway 21 is also known as “El Camino Real,” and was later called “The Old San Antonio Road” and is believed to be the oldest roadway on the North American continent. Indians were the first travelers on this historical route, and the Milam area was a trading post before the white men came to Texas. The site was originally an Indian watering place called "Las Borregas" by the Spanish, meaning "The Ewes."

"The Father of Texas" Stephen F. Austin spent his first night in Texas on the Borregas Creek and described the area as a red dirt mound, which is where it got its original name when John S. Roberts from Louisiana established his trading post as “Red Mound” in 1834. The name was changed to Milam in 1835 in honor of Benjamin Rush Milam, a Texas Revolutionary hero. The new town of Milam was made the County Seat of Sabine County in 1836 because it was the chief town in Texas during the Republic of Texas. The Milam Post Office is the oldest post office in Texas that has been in use ever since it started. While under the Republic of Texas, Milam was a port of entry with a customs collector. During the Civil War it became county headquarters for the Army Quartermaster Department of the Confederacy. During the antebellum Texas period the town was known for its two large racetracks, which drew crowds that were easily accommodated by its equally well-known inns and taverns.