College Heights/Clifton in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Preston Taylor
Minister, Entrepreneur, and Business Leader
1849-1931
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, February 5, 2021
1. Preston Taylor Marker
Inscription.
Preston Taylor. Minister, Entrepreneur, and Business Leader. , (side 1) , Preston Taylor was born a slave on November 7, 1849 in Shreveport, Louisiana. He served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the siege of Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War, he secured a contract to build several sections of the Big Sandy Railway from Mt. Sterling to Richmond, Virginia. Taylor came to Nashville around 1884 and three years later purchased thirty-seven acres of land at Elm Hill Pike and Spence Lane. A year later, he established Greenwood Cemetery, Nashville's second oldest cemetery for African-Americans.
(Continued on other side). (side 2)
(Continued from other side). Founding minister of Lea Avenue Christian Church, Taylor, an undertaker, also founded Taylor Funeral Company, the first African-American undertaking business in the city. A founder of the Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, in 1905 he established Greenwood Recreational Park, the first park for African-Americans. Taylor was among those instrumental in Nashville securing Tennessee A&I State Normal College. Twenty years after his death, the Preston Taylor public housing complex was named in honor of one of Nashvilles most powerful African-American leaders.
(side 1)
Preston Taylor was born a slave on November 7, 1849 in Shreveport, Louisiana. He served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the siege of Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War, he secured a contract to build several sections of the Big Sandy Railway from Mt. Sterling to Richmond, Virginia. Taylor came to Nashville around 1884 and three years later purchased thirty-seven acres of land at Elm Hill Pike and Spence Lane. A year later, he established Greenwood Cemetery, Nashville's second oldest cemetery for African-Americans.
(Continued on other side)
(side 2)
(Continued from other side)
Founding minister of Lea Avenue Christian Church, Taylor, an undertaker, also founded
Taylor Funeral Company, the first African-American undertaking business in the city. A founder of the Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, in 1905 he established Greenwood Recreational Park, the first park for African-Americans. Taylor was among those instrumental in Nashville securing Tennessee A&I State Normal College. Twenty years after his death, the Preston Taylor public housing complex was named in honor of one of Nashvilles
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most powerful African-American leaders.
Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 3A 177.)
Location. 36° 9.439′ N, 86° 49.872′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in College Heights/Clifton. It is at the intersection of Clifton Avenue and 39th Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Clifton Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3900 Clifton Ave, Nashville TN 37209, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, February 5, 2021
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, February 5, 2021
3. Preston Taylor Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 5, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 479 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on February 5, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
