Branch History
The area between Greenville and Greer was just farmland, and farmland it would
have remained had it not been for the mineral spring five miles east of Greenville
near the Enoree River. Dr. Burwell Chick bought up the land and opened the
Chick Springs Resort in 1840. It was soon teeming with summer visitors from
the lowcountry and elsewhere, who did much to boost the local economy. When
the Richmond and Atlanta Railway was built, local entrepreneur Alfred Taylor
built the station on his property, and gradually the center of business for
the area shifted to Taylor's Station.
In the twentieth century Taylors, as it was now known, received boosts from
nearby Camp Sevier during World War I and the opening of Southern Bleachery
in 1924. The widening of Wade Hampton Boulevard as the main thoroughfare between
Greenville and Spartanburg also contributed to the burgeoning population.
While some advocated incorporating Taylors in the 1960s, the move failed largely
because the area residents felt already well served by the water and fire districts.
Although only the springhouse of the original resort remains, Taylors has a
well-preserved downtown area and many longtime residents who value its history
and spirit.
The Taylors Branch of the Greenville County Library was founded on November
20, 1973. In the 1920s the Bookmobile had been begun stopping every other week
in Taylors at the First Baptist Church, but eventually the growth of the community
warranted its own branch. The location across from the fire station on Wade
Hampton Boulevard served until January 25, 2005, when the spacious Burdette
branch opened. The property on Main Street is especially noted for its beautiful
view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The new building has four times as much space
as the old storefront location.
Sources:
- Flynn, Jean Martin. An Account of Taylors, South Carolina 1817 to
1994.
Spartanburg: The Reprint Company, 1995.
- Flynn, Jean Martin. A Short History of Chick Springs. Travelers
Rest, SC: Loftis Printing Co, 1972.
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