In 1876, representatives of the Texas Land Company developed the community awaiting the arrival of the International and Great Northern Railway. Named for Edward Moses Taylor, a railroad official, the town was settled by immigrants from Czechoslovakia and other Slavic states, as well as from Germany and Austria, becoming a prosperous community for shipping cattle, grain, and cotton. Taylor grew during the early years of the twentieth century largely through the impact of cotton cultivation, promoting itself as “the largest inland cotton market in the world” with thousands of seasonal pickers descending on the community. In the latter part of the twentieth century, Taylor diversified with other industries and developed from its linear central business district along U.S. 79.
The Taylor commercial district, bounded by 5th, Washburn, 1st, and Vance streets, reflects the growth of the community in the late nineteenth century with the oldest building dating to 1878. Brick and stone are the predominant construction materials and buildings show an array of architectural influences.
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