Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 6-1-18

FLORIDA SENTINEL
FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018
B
Historic Marker Detailing The Contributions Of Madame Fortune Taylor Unveiled
At Bridge Renamed In Her Honor
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The Original Fortune Street Bridge: Fortune Street downtown and the For- tune Street Bridge (changed to the Laurel St. Bridge after the interstate reconfiguration) was named for a former slave and wife of former Hernando County slave, Benjamin Tay- lor. Together, the Taylors tended orchards of oranges, guavas, and peaches on the eastern shore of the Hillsbor- ough River in the late 1800s. After Benjamin’s death in 1869, Fortune was granted homestead to their 33 acres along the east bank of the Hillsborough River, on July 1, 1875. Three years later, Tampa Mayor Edward A. Clarke bought some of her land for $252.
The Fortune Street Bridge Now: A Black woman, who “bridged the gap” between West Tampa and the City of Tampa by selling her property for the construction of a bridge that connected the two municipalities in the late 1800s is finally being properly recognized for her historic role with a public display.
A marker detailing the story of Madame Fortune Taylor (Ranson) was un- veiled last week at the foot of the bridge that once again car- ries her name.
The Laurel Street Bridge over the Hillsborough River was once known as the For- tune Street Bridge in honor of
City Clerk, Shirley Foxx-Knowles, Hillsborough County Property Appraiser, Bob Henriquez, founding member of Friends of Madame Taylor, Ursula Knox Odom, Jennifer Dietz; founder of Friends of Madame Taylor, Gloria Jean Royster and City Council chairman, Frank Reddick.
Bureau.
The couple grew citrus and
stone fruits on their property and were considered success- ful growers. Madame For- tune also supplemented their income by selling baked goods made from the fruit she grew.
Her husband, Benjamin died the following year. Madame Fortune was en- couraged to have the property deeded in her name. This was achieved in 1874, with Presi- dent Ulysses S. Grant’s sig- nature on the document.
Respect for her ran deep in the community. An example of this was the renaming of Wall Street to Fortune Street in her honor, Odom said.
“There was a lot of lobby- ing going on to encourage the council to not wait until March,” she said. “On Jan. 31, we got approved.”
Royster said the dedica- tion celebration and unveiling ceremony also were important steps in honoring Madame Fortune Taylor.
“That was my desire for the maker ceremony ...to give her, her due respect, that’ why we did the program,” she said.
While continuing to work on a book about Madame Taylor, Royster said she’s uncovered the stories of other Blacks who are important to Tampa’s history, but are largely unknown – like the Black woman who owned 60 acres of land in Ybor City.
“We just want to tell the whole story,” she said. “We must tell the story.”
Madame Fortune Taylor.
More than a dozen people attended the unveiling cere- mony, which was postponed originally because of rain. However, a celebration break- fast at The Barrymore Hotel Tampa Riverwalk, did take place on that day.
The marker commemo- rates the significance of Madame Taylor’s action, which would lead to a tremen- dous boost in the area’s econ- omy.
According to reports, Hugh McFarlane, a lawyer and a founder of West Tampa, struck an agreement with Madame Taylor to build a bridge connecting West Tampa to the east side of the river (the bridge connected West Tampa’s cigar factories to the Hispanic, white and
Black people who lived on the east side of the river).
It’s a little-known story of which many are not aware, said Gloria Jean Royster, a Tampa resident and founder of the Friends of Madame Tay- lor.
The marker – along with the renaming of the bridge last October – will help change that, she said.
Working with Royster to uncover Taylor’s story was author and historian, Ursula Knox Odom. “It’s a partner- ship that’s led the two on a “wonderful journey” built on a deep trust in each other,” Odom said.
Odom, is also a founding member of the Friends of Madame Taylor.
Led by Councilman Frank Reddick, City Council
voted in October 2017 to put Mrs. Taylor’s name back on the bridge and seek an histori- cal marker telling her story.
Madame Taylor’s story – a Black woman who was a slave when she arrived to Florida from South Carolina and would go on to secure nearly 33 acres of land, on the east side of the river, in what is now downtown Tampa – is re- markable, Royster said.
“It was a fact that here was an African American woman who was supported by white people who managed to keep her land after her husband died,” she said. “That was un- heard of for a woman, let alone an African American woman.”
In 1868, Taylor and her then husband, Benjamin Taylor obtained their land with help from the Freedmen’s