Taylor Gordon was one of Montana’s most accomplished performers of the early twentieth century, although his fame as a singer happened not in Montana but in New York City.
He was born in 1893 and grew up in White Sulphur Springs, the seat of Meagher County. While his family home no longer stands, there are several important landmarks that help tell his story.
The first is the surviving depot for the White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park railroad which connected the town to the main line of the Milwaukee Road at the town of Ringling, about 20 miles to the south. Both places are important to Gordon’s story due to his association with John Ringling.
Ringling was a town first named Leader when the Milwaukee Road came through Meagher County in 1907. It became associated with circus magnate John Ringling who owned thousands of acres of ranch land in the county and had big dreams for developing the area, including ranches, the hot springs, and railroads. Milwaukee Road officials were interested too in having an attraction for passenger traffic on the way to its terminus to Yellowstone at Gallatin Gateway.
Around 1910 Ringling acquired the Dr. William Parberry house, a Queen Anne style house at the western end of town. Parberry had been one of the town’s founders. Ringling made it a family summer home. By 1911 he had hired Taylor Gordon as a driver, and general worker on the property. Within months Gordon became what we now might call a personal assistant (Ringling’s personal valet) and he traveled extensively with Ringling. Those travels led to his music career, especially as a duet act with J. Rosamond Johnson who accompanied Gordon on the piano. Their interpretations of African American spirituals gained wide acclaim. They toured throughout the nation in addition to England and Europe.
During these years Gordon was a significant figure in the Harlem Renaissance, which influenced American music, art, and literature. His memoir of growing up and finding his voice, and place, as a singer—titled Born to Be—was published in 1929. The book remains an important source on the Harlem Renaissance as well as the life of a young man in New York City during the Jazz Age.
Gordon and Johnson continued performing into the early 1930s. In the mid 1930s he temporarily moved back to White Sulphur Springs and wrote a novel, which was never published. The Great Depression stalled his career and by WW II he was a factory worker. In 1947 he fell prey to mental illness and was hospitalized for most of the next 12 years. In 1959 he returned to White Sulphur Springs.
His sister Rose operated a cafe from the Wellman Block. Gordon would open an antique shop there, and the building also served as the town’s post office at that time. Twenty years ago, the Wellman Block was renovated into the headquarters of Red Ants Pants, a nationally recognized clothing line for work clothes. Red Ants Pants also organizes and hosts an annual music festival in Meagher County. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Gordons became significant local historians in the 1960s and 1960s. Rose contributed history columns to the county newspaper and was a leader in the county’s centennial celebration in 1967. Taylor became involved with the restoration of the historic Sherman House, known as The Castle, the town’s first major historic preservation project. It too is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Gordon assisted with the interior restoration and furnishings for the museum. He also wrote the house’s first history and guidebook.
As a youngster he had worked for Byron Sherman, the topic of his book and the owner of the stone mansion. The Meagher County Historical Society guided the restoration and today the society administers the house and adjacent museum.
Like other members of his family Taylor Gordon was buried at the Mayn Cemetery in White Sulphur Springs upon his death in 1971.
His story is remarkable and the surviving historic properties allow us to walk in his footsteps.
