Horace Dickinson Taylor
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1821-1890) At the age of 17 Horace Dickinson Taylor left his native Massachusetts with his brother, Edward, after the sudden death of their parents. They settled in Independence, Texas, in 1838, and in 1848 the Taylor brothers moved to Houston where they established a cotton business. Horace became sole owner of the business in 1850 and soon thereafter bought a warehouse near a steamboat landing on Buffalo Bayou. From this strategic location he could roll cotton down to boats waiting below and within a short time developed a thriving cotton brokerage enterprise. Horace married Emily Baker in 1852. They reared three sons and two daughters here on their 3.5 acre wooded homesite. Taylor became one of the city's influential citizens, serving as alderman in 1861-1862, mayor in 1866, and as an elder of the First Presbyterian Church. Buffalo Bayou, neglected during the Civil War, was dredged during Taylor's term as mayor, effectively re-establishing commerce to the Gulf. The bayou soon became the lifeline of Houston businesses, allowing the city to successfully compete with Galveston for trade. Taylor, who was one of the founders of the Board of Trade and Cotton Exchange in 1874, continued in the cotton business until his death.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Orphaned as a teenager, Massachusetts-born Horace Dickinson Taylor came to Texas in 1838 and by 1848 had settled in Houston, where he built a thriving cotton brokerage beside a Buffalo Bayou steamboat landing. He raised his family on a wooded homesite here and rose to civic prominence as alderman and, in 1866, mayor. His dredging of the war-neglected bayou revived Houston's commerce and helped the city outcompete Galveston for trade.
Why it matters
Taylor's career shows how cotton, waterways, and civic leadership combined to make Houston a commercial powerhouse in the decades surrounding the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Horace Dickinson Taylor
- · Emily Baker Taylor
Themes & tags
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