The Preston Taylor Story....

In 1887, Preston purchased thirty-seven acres of land near “Buttermilk Ridge” at Elm Hill Road and Spence Lane on which he established the Greenwood Cemetery in 1888. Preston, along with three other gentlemen, had planned to purchase this land together for $30,000. Preston was the only one who followed through on the transaction. His purpose was to mainly provide first class burial space that would be available at minimal cost for the African American population of Nashville, in particular, and for the surrounding communities. In his Will he deeded the cemetery to the National Christian Missionary Convention of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), it remains, yet today, a non-profit establishment.

1888 seemed to have been a splendid year for Preston. He also embarked upon the undertaking business and met with unbound success. He founded Taylor Funeral Company at 449 Cherry Street (now 4th Avenue.)

The Taylor family lived on the second floor of the two-story brick structure until 1906. Preston stood at the helm of his profession. He then established a casket factory and built his own caskets for his clients and others. He left the Gay Street Church in 1888 and in 1891 established Lea Avenue Christian Church. The newly organized congregation met in a doctor’s office building on Spruce Street (now 8th Avenue). In 1903, under Preston’s direction and personal effort, a new imposing edifice was built on Lea Avenue. During the next forty years Preston pastured the Lea Avenue Church while he successfully managed his business.

Upon the loss of three black firemen in a horrendous fire on January 2, 1892, the bodies were placed in the care of Taylor and company. On January 6, an impressive funeral service was held at the State Capitol. Taylor constructed an ingenious carriage, which allowed the bodies of the three men to rest side-by-side. This was the first and last time that blacks were allowed to have a funeral in the Capitol rotunda.

The Preston Taylor story continues……

Preston establishes Greenwood Park for Negros…

In 1905, on November 15, Preston purchased an additional 371/2 acres to establish the Greenwood Park. The park was located near the corner of Spence Lane and Lebanon Road.

Negros could not attend the city’s public parks so Preston established Greenwood Park. African-Americans now had their own place of entertainment and recreation in which to socialize. The design of the Park was not only established for pleasure but also as an educational feature such as a Chautauqua for teachers in the summer season…..

Greenwood Park officially opened in 1906. The Park was elaborate. It had fountains, gardens, shows, a baseball stadium (home of the Greenwood Giants), a track and stables for the Tennessee Colored Fair Associations annual event, bandstands, a skating rink, a theater, rollercoaster, shooting gallery, merry-go-round, and a zoo. There was also an old plantation scene displayed, barbeque stand, picnic area, and lunch room. An additional attraction was sideshows. A number of limpid streams flowed through the park, giving coolness and an abundance of drinking water. There was a clubhouse with a restaurant and more. Because of segregation laws, the “colored” version of the Tennessee Annual City officials did not like all of this park business and would not run the electric street cars out to the park. This being the case, Preston provided “Pleasure Wagons” that met the street cars on Green Street and Fairfield Street turn-a-round which was two miles from the Park and would take the customer on to the Lebanon Road, picket-fenced gate entrance. Admission was usually ten cents and twenty-five cents on the holidays.


The Preston Taylor story continues…..

You might say Preston Taylor, in all likelihood, was the best known, most beloved minister and the impetus of African-American Disciples in his day. Preston had been a modern day Moses for his people. He left a rich and rare legacy for them to look at, carry on, and preserve.

Preston, at the age of one year, with his mother Betty and husband Zed who were slaves, moved from his birth place, Shreveport, Louisiana to Lexington, Kentucky. In spite of adverse circumstances, meager, and impoverished conditions, and racially mixed background by his own efforts and determination, overcame the lot life had dealt him and excelled in the process. He became a multi-individual and a great entrepreneur.

Preston, at the age of four, began to be touched and influenced by the gospel through preaching ministry of the Reverend Ferrell at First Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. Parents and Christian friends were instrumental in nurturing Preston in spiritual things, and he grew in the knowledge of the scriptures.


The Preston Taylor Story….

Preston Taylor was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on November 7, 1849 of slave parents. Taylor served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the siege of Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War he traveled throughout the North bid settled at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, as a Minister. Deeply affected by the exclusion of Negros from local Reconstruction projects, Taylor landed a contract to build several sections of the Big Sandy Railway from Mt. Sterling to Richmond, Virginia. After this successful business venture and extensive work in the Christian (Disciples of Christ) Church, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

Taylor arrived in Nashville around 1884 and by the earlier years of the twentieth century, he had become one of Nashville’s most influential Black-business and religious leaders.

The magnitude of Preston Taylor’s witness, work, resources acquired, inspiration given, and leadership shown throughout his life and ministry within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has never been fully told, recorded or compiled for publication; nor actually fully known. No known memoirs of Preston Taylor have ever been found.

Scholars have often written about his many extraordinary entrepreneurial skills through researching the library and archives of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society which is the library and archives of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Independent Christian Churches and the Churches of Christ throughout the United State and Canada.

Taylor the Writer

Preston had begun writing for many books other periodicals such as “The Assembly Standard” at Plymouth, North Carolina, “ The Christian Soldier” and “ The Gospel Plea” which became “ the Christian Plea,” the organ of thee ‘Colored’ Churches. He reports in the “Christian Standard”, January 21, 1882-19, that his mother had died on January 4 of that year. She was born in 1815.

Preston ability was of the caliber that gave him marked distinction by the Disciples of Christ and it was felt that he should fill a larger field within the church.

In 1883 at the International Convention of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Preston was appointed National Evangelist for working among African-American Disciples. He would travel about holding revivals in various parts of the country, organizing new churches, and raising funds for the church and its schools. Much success marked his labor as pastor at Millersburg, and Paris, Kentucky. Preston held this position until 1901.

In 1884 Preston organized the Second Christian Church in Normal, Illinois where incorporated a Bible school. It was incorporated a Bible school. It was incorporated under the civil statute and owned its own property. The property value was $1,700. There were sixteen charter members. Enrollment later numbered thirty-eight. The church was located at the corner of Cherry and Linden Streets.

October 1884 would be the last edition of “Our Colored Brethren” and also the year that Preston would relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. Preston became employed by Mr. M.S. Combs, a Caucasian preacher and undertaker, from which he learned skills in embalming.

Preston Pastorate of Gay Street Christian Church

In 1886 Preston was called to the pastorate of the Gay Street Christian Church which had been organized in 1849 as a Sunday school by the Vine Street Christian Church which is the parent body of all the Christian Churches in Nashville. Vine Street was established in 1824. Members who owned slaves attend church with their slaves. Many of the slaves desired to have their own separate worship. In 1849 two Sunday schools were started from the slave membership. Ten years later, 1859, one of the Sunday Schools was constituted a church. Peter Lowery, a free Negro, was its leader. Many scholars have labeled it the first independent Negro congregation in the South. The Colored congregation was named Grapevine Christian Church but it would later change it name to Second Christian Church. When the congregation relocated and built a house of worship on Gay Street it then changed its name to Gay Street Christian Church.

Taylor never failed to continue to minister as he worked I capacity of National Evangelist. One very significant accomplishment, which deserves special mention, was the purchase of the old college property located at New Castle, Kentucky, which he worked to raise money for. The cost was $18,000, exclusive of the grounds. A school was organized in 1887 and operated under the name Christian Bible College of New Castle. Thomas B. Frost and Jason Cowan were other leaders who insisted in this effort. The college was for training of Black ministers. Preston, a trustee and financial agent attended the school for a short period.

A Young, Gifted, Business Minded Mulatto Emerges….

When the Big Sandy Railroad was under contract to be completed from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky to Richmond, Virginia, the contractors preferred Caucasian laborers and refused to hire African-American workers. Being deeply affected by the exclusion of Negros from local reconstruction projects, Preston made a bid to build sections three and four. He successfully landed the contract. Preston then erected a large commissary and quarters for his men, bought seventy five head of mules, horses, carts, wagons; all the necessary tools and equipment. With one hundred and fifty men of color- he led the way. It was one of the most hazardous undertakings ever attempted by a man of color. Preston’s manner was to always petition the help of his God in fourteen months they had completed the two miles of the most difficult sections of this great trunk line at a cost of $75,000. The president of the railroad, C.P. Huntington, gave the following words of praise, saying “I have built thousands of miles of road nut have never before saw a contractor who has finished his contract in advance.” When the news went about of their outstanding achievement, Preston was then requested by the Chief Engineer of the works, to move his workforce to another county to help some of the Caucasian contractors. This he did not do but this certainly removed the objection of hiring African-American laborers and from that time on they were sought rather than rejected. Preston had won the confidence, affection, and trust, and had enshrined himself in the hearts and memory of the one hundred fifty men whom he had succored for this great task and also the respect of his Caucasian counterparts.

Taylor Confession of Faith….

On his return Preston focused his attention fully towards the ministry.

At the age of twenty, on Sunday morning Preston made his confession of faith. The Preacher, J.D. Smith, of Kansas City had taken his confession that day. Preston was baptized that afternoon, and preached his first sermon that night in a small fellowship held in the kitchen of a great house located at the corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets in Louisville, Kentucky.

Preston was circa twenty when he became an elder in the church that was pastured by Elder Samuel Buckner. Upon receiving a call to the ministry he entered the ministry of the Christian Church. He began to take an active roll in the Negro work at circa twenty one years of age. Preston accepted the pastorate of the High Street Christian Church at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky devoting fifteen years of his life ministering to the congregation. High Street Christian Church was known by far the largest congregation in Kentucky among those of his faith.

The report of the Christian Church in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky for the year 1880, December 30, showed a total membership of three hundred and eighty two. It is further declared that during his fifteen years as pastor there Preston became known as the leading minister of his church on the United States. This reputation qualified him as a representative of his people, to be a writer of a column, “Our Negro Brethren” for the Christian Standard. When he took charge of the church it was in its infancy with a membership of eighteen. When he left, the membership had reached circa eight hundred and was then the largest congregation in the state. Preston served the Mt. Sterling Church from 1869-1884.


Preston Joins the Military…

The Civil War broke out in 1861.

Frederick Douglas encouraged blacks to fight for their full status as American citizens by joining the military.

At the age of fifteen, Preston Taylor joined the military. He enlisted as a drummer in Company G 116th. United States Colored Infantry. He was at the siege of Richmond, Petersburg and the Surrender of Lee at Appomattox in April of 1865.

When his regiment was mustered out of service he then learned the stone cutter trade and became skillful in monument work, and also engraving on marble.

In Louisville, Kentucky he found plenty of work within prominent marble yards but being isolated by the Caucasian workers because of his racial mixture, he moved on to find other work. His skills and adaptability were an asset and when offered the position as train porter on the Old Louisville and Chattanooga railroad, he accepted, and for four years he was classed as one of the best railroad men in that service. When he resigned he was asked to remain and was offered a promotion as Assistant Baggage Master but he did not desire to remain with the railroad. He was given a strong recommendation and a pass over all the roads for an extensive trip, which he took through the North.

Preston Taylor First Wife Georgia Gordon 1855-1913

Georgia was born in 1855, in Nashville, Tennessee, to a mulatto mother, Mercy Duke Gordon (1833-1890), and a slave father, George Gordon (1830-1870). Mercy’s mother was white, and the law required that children of free mothers were free.

Between 1620 and 1820, most American mulattoes had white mothers and black fathers. Mercy had another child, Elwina, born in 1848 and fathered by a white man (Dr. Warner) before she married a black slave, George Gordon. It was also common for slaves and free blacks to marry each other. Free Blacks comprised nearly twenty-two percent of Nashville’s population by 1860, and mulattoes (persons of black and white parentage) made up more than half of the town’s free Negros. Some slaves perhaps like George Gordon, were quasi-independent persons, who were allowed to live in their free spouse’s household, hire out their own time, and pay part of their wages to their free owner. Because Mercy was a free person, all of her children were born free, even though Georgia’s father was a slave. Mercy and George had two children; Governor B and Georgia.

Georgia married Preston Taylor (1849-1931) and had one child, Preston G. Taylor (1890-1891); she was broken hearted over the death of her seven month old son. She became her husband’s constant companion, but she freely gave of her singing ability as a soprano soloist throughout Nashville’s black community.

Following her death in 1913, Georgia Gordon Taylor was buried on Nashville’s Greenwood Cemetery on Elm Hill Pike, where a magnificent and beautiful monument marks her resting place. A plague denotes that she was an original Jubilee Singer and her experiences with the Jubilee Singers were all well documented in the Special Collections section of the Fisk University Library.

Taylor’s succeed in Street Railway Company….

Another outstanding feat of Preston’s was succeeding in having the Street railway Company appropriate money to build the streetcar line from Olivet Cemetery to Greenwood Park. When they declared that it could not be done for $25,000 he met the challenge and stated to Mr. Percy Warner, who was at the time connected with the Street Railway Company that he could build it for less than $25,000. They took him upon his offer and Preston actually supervised the construction work. It is said that he did save $10,000 and returned the money to the Railroad Company.

Preston had headed up the Union Transportation Company years earlier, when it was operated in Nashville as a protest to what many considered then as unfair legislation, and out of his own funds, with several others, he met every obligation of the Company which cost over $50,000.

Preston built a large finely constructed home in the greenwood Park. Meanwhile the whites of Buttermilk Ridge sought state legislation to ‘forbid a place of recreation within two miles of a cemetery. “Preston had a Caucasian friend who knew the mayor personally and asked him to speak with him about the matter. The mayor vetoed the legislation; however, a mysterious fire destroyed the Park’s baseball stadium in 1915. Greenwood Park expanded and prospered.

Preston Taylor, a founder and First Chairman of Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company

Preston was founder and first chairman of Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company. The bank was founded in 1904 as the One Cent Savings Bank. The bank was a depository for the Defense fund of the Negro Council and helped fund civil rights initiatives as early as 1906. The name was changed to Citizens Bank in 1920. In the fall of 2002, the State of Tennessee “Citizen Bank Mark on History is recorded” erected an official historical marker. (Location: 21st Street and Jefferson Street)

First Masonic Temple…

It was Preston’s farsightedness and his guiding hand which made it possible for the Masons to have the magnificent buildings and tract of land that made up the Masonic Old Folks’ Home and orphanage on Lebanon Pike that was opposite his Estate. He took the lead in this venture and was responsible, in a large measure, for the Masonic Temple to be purchased in the city of Nashville. He likewise, led the Odd Fellows in the purchase of their property. Preston’s financing ability also made possible for the purchase of the first Pythian Temple in Nashville.

Another community involvement was in the establishment of the Tennessee State Agricultural and Industrial State Normal College in 1909. This is now Tennessee State University.

Preston and the National Convention…..

In 1917 two calls went out within the Christian Church to organize a National Convention. Preston sent out a call from Nashville, Tennessee and William Alphin sent out a call fro Kansas City. The people rallied the call of Preston and he proceeded in organizing the convention that was held the week of September 5, 1917 at the Lea Avenue Christian Church. Preston was the convener. His introduction could have stated that he was President of the Odd Fellows Association, President of the Knights of Pythias temple Association, President of the Rock City Coal Company, Director of the “Negro Combine”, Director of the One Cent Savings Bank Chaplain of Company G of the Uniform Rank, Owner of Greenwood Cemetery and Greenwood Amusement Park and Founder Builder Pastor of the Lea Avenue Christian Church. He was elected President and would be re-elected each year until his death in 1931.

Preston Taylor Summary…..

Preston Taylor was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 7, 1849, of slave parents. Taylor served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the siege of Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War, he traveled throughout the North but, settled at Mt. Sterling, as a minister. Deeply affected by the exclusion of Negros from local Reconstruction projects, Taylor landed a contract to build several sections of the Big Sandy Railway from Mt. Sterling to Richmond, Virginia. After this successful business venture and extensive work in the Christian (Disciples of Christ) Church, he moved to Nashville.

Taylor arrived in Nashville around 1884; and by the early years of the twentieth century, he had become one of Nashville’s most influential black business and religious leaders. He was married to Georgia Gordon, one of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers. Their son, Preston died in 1891 and Mrs. Taylor died in 1913. Taylor then married Ida D. Mallory.

In 1887, Taylor purchased thirty seven acres of land near “Buttermilk Ridge” at Elm Hill Pike and Spence Lane. Upon this dairy land he established Nashville’s second oldest cemetery Greenwood. In 1888, he founded Taylor Funeral Company at 449 North Cherry Street (now Fourth Avenue).

In 1905, he extended his holdings with each purchase of thirty seven and a half acres of land near the corner of Spence Lane and Lebanon Road for the purpose of establishing the Greenwood Recreational Park for Negros. The park was elaborate, with fountains, gardens, shows, food stands, a baseball park, rides, band stands, and special attractions. The annual State Colored fair was held there where at times some 14,000 persons attended in a single day.

His horse drawn “pleasure” wagons met the electric streetcars at the Green Fairfield Street turn-around and took the customers to the Lebanon Road entrance of the park. Twice in 1915 mysterious fires threatened to destroy the park. Otherwise, there was no challenge to Greenwood Park until the first city owned park for Negros, Hadley Park was opened in July 1912. Taylor’s business ventures made him a wealthy man.

Among his other activities were the organization in 1917 of the National Negro Christian Missionary Convention and involvement in the establishment of Tennessee A&I Normal College (now Tennessee State University). He also helped organize several other black businesses in Nashville.

After moving to Nashville, Tennessee, Taylor became minister of the Gay Street Christian Church, founded in 1824 as the Negro congregation of the white Vine Street First Christian Church. In 1891, due to controversy, Reverend Taylor and a part of the congregation left the Gay Street Colored Church and established a church in a doctor’s office building on Spruce Street (now Eighth Avenue). In 1903, they completed a church on Lea Avenue near Lafayette at the present site of Sears. After Taylor’s death, the two congregations united into Gay Lea Christian Church (now New Covenant Christian Church) located at 2201 Osage Street. Lea Avenue Christian Church is now located in East Nashville.
 

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