William Taylor Stores is a historic building in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located in Savannah's Historic District, the addresses of some of the properties are West Bay Street, above Factors Walk, while others solely utilize the former King Cotton warehouses on River Street. As of February 2022, these are the Chart House Seafood in the eastern section (completed in 1806), while Modern Travel Network and American Gift Shop occupy the western section (completed in 1818). It is the oldest surviving structure on today's River Street, the oldest ballast-stone cotton warehouse in the country,The Majesty of Savannah, Peter Beney (1992), p. 50 and stated by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) as being significant as an "early example of a multi-storied river embankment storage warehouse".William Taylor Store, 204 West Bay Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA – Library of Congress
The eastern section, today's 202 and 204, was formerly Southern Marine Supply Company Incorporated,2. NORTH REAR - William Taylor Store, 204 West Bay Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA Photos from Survey HABS GA-1196 – Library of Congress while the western section, now 206, was known as the Taylor House at the time of its construction.
The buildings were partially destroyed by fire in 1885 and rebuilt the same year.The Georgia Catalog, Historic American Buildings Survey: A Guide to the Architecture of the State, John Linley (1982), p. 95
William Taylor William Taylor (1769–1840), a merchant and slave owner, was a Scottish emigrant who initially moved to South Carolina. He married Mary Elizabeth Clayton Miller in Stateburg, South Carolina, in 1799. Taylor was a partner with both his brother-in-law and Andrew Low for a period. He was president of the Saint Andrew's Society, an organization that assisted Scottish immigrants to the United States. Upon Taylor's death in 1840, one of the executors of his will was William Washington, the father of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low.Georgia Quilts: Piecing Together a History (2006), p. 49
The Taylors had several children, although only two survived: Alexander Miller Taylor (1800–1829) and Elizabeth Ann Taylor Goodwin (1802–1882). Elizabeth survived her husband by six years (died in 1846).Georgia Quilts: Piecing Together a History (2006), p. 51
Interior views
River Street façade
Barnard Street elevation
See also Buildings in Savannah Historic District
References
External links HABS photos of 204 West Bay Street from the 20th century