John Stansel Taylor

Peninsula's first pioneers, [ [http://www.sptimes.com/2008/03/04/news_pf/Northpinellas/Park_will_link_Pinell.shtml Farlow, Rita. "Park will link Pinellas County's past, present." "St. Petersburg Times." March 4, 2008.] ] and he was one one of the first residents to be born in the Largo area. He was one of four members of his family to serve in the State Legislature. He was one of the largest landowners in Pinellas County, owning citrus groves and a packing plant at a time when Largo was nicknamed "Citrus City." [ [http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/18_taylor.htm Taylor Park. Online. June 6, 2008.] ] Taylor was President of the Florida Citrus Exchange and a Member of the State Citrus Commission. He has been called "the father of Pinellas County." [ Chapin, George. "Florida, Past Present, and Future". 529. 1914] He died in 1936. Taylor Lake Park, a Pinellas County park, was named in his honor.

As a child, he worked in his family's groves and packing plant. On May 2, 1901, he married Flossie Campbell. [Straub, W. L. "History of Pinellas County". page 471. The Record Company. St. Augustine, Florida. 1929.] In 1903, Taylor built his citrus packing plant at the corner of Missouri Avenue and Bay Drive in Largo. [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/50251945.html?dids=50251945:50251945&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+8%2C+1990&author=AMELIA+DAVIS&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=6&desc=Reunion+is+%60Taylor-made%27+for+Largo Davis, Amelia. "Reunion is `Taylor-made' for Largo." "St. Petersburg Times." Clearwater Times, Page 1. May 8, 1990. Online. June 19, 2008.] ] Taylor served as a Hillsborough County's Representative in the State Legislature from 1905 until 1910 and advocated for the separation of Pinellas from Hillsborough County. In 1911 he served as mayor of Largo and in 1913 was instrumental in making Largo the first Florida town to use a council-manager government. He continued the campaign for the separation of the Pinellas Peninsula from Hillsborough County. He lobbied the Legislature and presided at a rally in Largo where the "Pinellas Declaration of Independence" (written by "St. Petersburg Times" editor W. L. Straub) was read. The Legislature created Pinellas County on January 1, 1912, [Largo Area Historical Society. "From Pines and Palmettos-- A portrait of Largo." page 46. The Donning Company Publishers. Virginia Beach, Va. 2005.] and Pinellas County elected Taylor to the Florida Senate in September of 1912. ["Largo Sentinel" Front page. Sept. 19, 1912.] . He defeated the Socialist candidate 384 to 307.

He also served as chair of the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners from 1915 to 1923. There he helped reform the awarding of contracts for roads construction. He advocated for construction of a county wide road system at a time when Pinellas roads were inadequate and construction was controversial. In May of 1924, he became president of the "Citrus City" Growers Association. In 1925, he became president of the Florida Senate. The issue of evolution caused consternation among Floridians at that time, and the1927 session of the Legislature sought to pass an "anti-evolution bill" to prohibit the teaching of evolution in public schools. Senator Taylor was a vice-president in the "Bible Crusaders of America" and a strong anti-evolutionist. He used his power as Senate President to have the Bill calendared and voted on by number only, but the Bill's opponents discovered what had been done and successfully fought its passage. [ [http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple;c=fhq;cc=fhq;q=%22John%20S.%20Taylor%22;rgn=div1;a=45;sid=d0c2b86bd324eaf1e864524453961b9e;q1=John%20S.%20Taylor;view=text;sort=dated;idno=SN00154113_0054_002;node=SN00154113_0054_002%3A5 France, Mary Duncan. "A Year of the Monkey War": The Anti-Evolution Campaign and the Florida Legislature. Florida Historical Society: The Florida Historical Quarterly volume 54 issue 2. 168. Online. June 6, 2008.] ] In 1928, he ran unsuccessfully for governor. [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/50003805.html?dids=50003805:50003805&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+31%2C+1987&author=TONY+DORIS&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.1.1.3&desc=He%27s+worth+%2447-million+-+but+who+is+he%3F Doris, Tony. "He's worth $47-million - but who is he?" "St. Petersburg Times". May 31, 1987] ]

In 1929, he became president of the Florida Horticultural Society. [Unsourced newspaper clipping, vertical file folder, Largo History room. Largo Public Library.] Taylor's groves and packing plant were mainstays of Largo's economy during the Great Depression. [Halvoresn, Jean. "Flashback." (primary source)] [ Largo Bicentennial Book Committee. "Largo, then till . . . ." Page 57. Largo Area Historical Society. 1979. ] On April Fool's eve, 1931, the packing plant burned down. Taylor rented space from another packer and built a new plant on Seminole Boulevard at East Bay Drive, where Largo Central Park was built after the plant's demolition. [Largo Area Historical Society. "From Pines and Palmettos-- A portrait of Largo." Page 3. The Donning Company Publishers. Virginia Beach, Va. 2005.] His business interests included serving as president of the Bank of Clearwater. He was a director of the People's Bank of Clearwater and Largo. He was a Knight of Pythias and an Elk. [ Chapin, George. "Florida, Past Present, and Future". page 529.] He was also a steward of Largo First Methodist Church. [Unsourced newspaper clipping, vertical file folder, Largo History room. Largo Public Library] He was a member of the Democratic National Committee in 1932. In 1935, he was elected president of the Florida Citrus Exchange. [Unsourced newspaper clipping, vertical file folder, Largo History room. Largo Public Library] He served in the Florida Senate and as an advocate for Florida citrus until his death. He suffered a heart attack while making a trip to promote Florida citrus, and died at home a week later in August of 1936. [ "John S. Taylor, 65, dies." "The Largo Sentinel". August 20, 1936]

References

ources

* [http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/20/Northpinellas/New_Pappas_opens_toda.shtml Blackwell, Theresa. "Tribute marks funeral of John S. Taylor." "St. Petersburg Times." Aug. 17, 1936. reprinted August 20, 2006. Online. June 19, 2008.]
* Cain, Gretchen. "Taylor Family reunion draws 140 together." "Largo Leader." May 10, 1990.
*Goldman, Sue Searcy .Pinellas County, Florida. "A History of the Board of County Commissioners of Pinellas County"
* [http://www.pinellascounty.org/PDF/HistOfBCC.pdf Goldman. Sue Searcy. "A History of the Board of County Commissioners of Pinellas County."] Online. June 25, 2008.]