Taylor

01 / Why it matters

Why Taylor matters

Taylor split off from Ecorse Township in 1847 and took the name of General Zachary Taylor, hero of the Mexican–American War. It stayed farm country for a long time: the Wabash Railroad built a station here in 1876, named for George E. Hand, who sold the right-of-way, and locals called the area Hand Corners. Residents voted to become a city in 1966, and Governor George W. Romney approved the charter on March 6, 1968.

Heritage Park is the heart of town: a lake, a covered bridge, historic buildings including a near replica of the Hand station, a petting farm, and every August since 1981 the Junior League World Series for 12-to-14-year-olds. This is a baseball-crazy city: Taylor North Little League won the 2021 Little League World Series. In June the Taylor Summer Festival brings concerts, carnival rides and fireworks to the same park.

Two points of local pride: the very first Hungry Howie's pizza shop opened on Telegraph Road in 1973. And the Hungarian thread is alive: when I-75 split Delray in the 1960s, some Hungarians moved to Taylor, and the Hungarian American Cultural Center still runs on Goddard Road. It was founded in 1978 by refugees of the 1956 revolution and opened its hall in 1984.