Founder Mae McMillan Speaking at Pine Crest School Groundbreaking 1964

Mae McMillan Mae McMillan 1898-1985: History Fort Lauderdale Gene Hyde Photograph Collection
Mae McMillan Mae McMillan 1898-1985

History Fort Lauderdale Gene Hyde Photograph Collection

Name/Title

Founder Mae McMillan Speaking at Pine Crest School Groundbreaking 1964

Entry/Object ID

5-1884

Tags

Women's History, Mae McMillan

Description

Woman ( Mae McMillan) in white dress standing at a podium with a microphone.

Photograph Details

Subject Person or Organization

Mae McMillan

Collection

Historic Photograph Collection, Gene Hyde Photograph Collection, Women's History

Cataloged By

TLB

Category

photographs

Made/Created

Studio

Plummers Studios

Date made

May 20, 1964

Place

Location

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Notes

Film Size: 35mm Negative No.: 5-1884

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Print, Photographic

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Photograph

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Graphic Documents

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Schools, Schools, Private, Ground breaking ceremonies, Principals, School

Search Terms

Schools

Maintenance

Maintenance History

Date

Jun 27, 2007

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

McMillan, Mae

General Notes

Note Type

Historical Note

Note

Notes: In the early 1930's, Mae McMillan began tutoring children of winter visitors to Fort Lauderdale. She helped them with assignments so they could return to their home schools with their studies up to date. The high caliber of her teaching soon attracted full-time local students, and in 1934 she founded her school in rented rooms in the old Elks Club Building (second schoolhouse/Broward County Courthouse) in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Stimulated by Mrs. McMillan's foresight and dedication, scholastic improvements brought increased enrollment and a pressing need for physical expansion. In 1939, she moved her 100 students to an eight-acre site on East Broward Boulevard and added a boarding department. It was here that Mrs. McMillan established the name of Pine Crest School. Space was limited in the former hospital building, so she acquired acreage across a side street for use as an elementary school. Pine Crest remained on the downtown campus for 26 years. Pine Crest School became accredited during those years and developed a reputation as an excellent college preparatory school. Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) was followed by membership in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS), and numerous other professional groups. To better serve the needs of the expanding community's population, the school was incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1959 and moved in 1965 to an entirely new 49-acre campus in northeast Fort Lauderdale.

Note Type

Historical Note

Note

Mae McMillan 1898-1985 Born in Corning, Iowa in 1898, Mae McMillan was raised with a love and appreciation for education. While living at home with her parents, Mae taught French, Latin, algebra, and English at her old high school to pay for summer courses at the University of Chicago. While furthering her education, Mae met Albert McMillan, a South Dakota lawyer and judge. After a brief courtship, Mae and Albert married before moving to Fort Lauderdale in 1925. Prior to the move, Mae secured a position at Dania High School teaching a range of subjects from French to physics. Mae’s hard work and dedication supported her family as Albert studied for his Florida Bar certification. Together, the McMillans navigated life’s difficulties, including the 1926 hurricane and the Great Depression. Though difficult times, tourist families continued to flock to Fort Lauderdale, and with them, children in need of tutoring. Mae McMillan and partner Edna Herriot answered the call by operating Fern Hall as a one-to-one tutoring school for winter students. In 1939, with more than 100 students, Mae signed the lease for what was previously the Pine Crest Sanatorium to found the McMillan-Pine Crest School. Over the years, Mae continued to advance her own education along with expanding Pine Crest School to second campus on Broward Blvd. Dr. McMillan’s dedication to her school, students, and community was evident as her teaching career continued into her late 80s, leaving a proud legacy in Fort Lauderdale education. Pine Crest art class.

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

March 21, 2008

Updated By

eandrews@historyfortlauderdale.org

Update Date

November 29, 2023