E OF TAYLOR DR, BTW WILGUS AND ERIE AVES

E OF TAYLOR DR, BTW WILGUS AND ERIE AVES

Sheboygan

Sheboygan

1939

2010

bandstand/bandshell

Astylistic Utilitarian Building

Wood Shingle

Works Progress Administation

No

2012-The Judge David Taylor County Park currently consists of just over 15 acres and can be divided into three relatively distinct sections. The southern portion of the park acreage includes the Judge David Taylor Residence (AHI#59736, National Register-listed in 1976), as well as a number of other structures that have since been moved onto the property, which is known with the separate address, 3110 Erie Avenue.

The central section of the park parcel is the wooded park proper, which includes a limited pathway/walkway system (built 1937), as well as a comfort station (AHI#162721, built 1937) and a bandstand (AHI#162722, built 1939). Modern structures in this section include a modern (2009) playground system, as well as a transmission tower and associated concrete block building (photos included for reference, but no AHI# assigned).

The northernmost portion of the park, which is largely an open grassy area, includes a modern memorial to Sheboygan County veterans (AHI#138005), which was erected in 1994. A large parking lot stands adjacent to the memorial.

Judge David Taylor Park was designated as a park on 2 December 1931, with formal dedication occurring in July 1932. At the time of its designation, the park included 12.7 acres of land which had previously been part of the David Taylor farm. In 1932, the City of Sheboygan purchased a 2 ½-acre parcel upon which they built the Taylor Hill Reservoir, which is discussed below. Improvements to the park began in 1934, when the Civil Works Administration approved the construction of a 100-foot boulevard entry to the park (significantly altered to present-day Taylor Drive), located between present-day Kohler Memorial Drive/STH 23 and Erie Avenue. Included in that project was a stone entrance marker to the Park (which is located at the northeast corner of Erie Avenue & Kohler Memorial Drive). In 1936, a number of stone-constructed roasters and dining tables were built with WPA funding (they are no longer extant). In July 1937, a comfort station (a pavilion with bathrooms) was erected in the park and winding paths/walkways were also constructed; a bandstand was completed in 1939 and eleven bratwurst stands (no longer extant) and a softball diamond (no longer extant) were noted as in the park. In 2009, a new playground system was added to the park.

The Judge David Taylor County Park was, as its name suggests, named after Judge David Taylor, who served a variety of positions, including those in the State Assembly, State Senate, and the State Supreme Court. In 1976, his home, at 3110 Erie Avenue, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Since the park was named after him forty years after his death, combined with the fact that his house (which opened as the Sheboygan County Historical Society Museum in 1952) is already listed in the National Register.

"Third Taylor Park Project is Completed" and "The New Bandstand Erected in Taylor Park," The Sheboygan Press, 5 August 1939. “Architecture/History Survey: Taylor Dr. Bike Trail: Crocker Ave. To Kohler Memorial Dr.” WHS project number 12-0940/SB. May 2010; reviewed April 2012. Prepared by Heritage research, Ltd.

Not Listed