HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Over the next couple of weeks, we will highlight the impact African Americans have had on the Bay Area. You’ll hear about historical Black figures and places that helped to make the Bay Area what it is today.
Fred Hearns, a historian with the Tampa History Center, highlights Fortune Taylor, a formerly enslaved woman responsible for connecting east and west Tampa.
“During reconstruction, several Africa Americans here in Tampa were able to become – for the first time – landowners,” said Hearns. Hearns noted some of them were given land grants by the federal government. One of those people was Madam Fortune Taylor.
“Madam Fortune lived and owned 33 acres of land on the west side of the Hillsborough River, just north of the Straz Center,” Hearns explained. “Fortune Taylor was loved in this community, a devout churchgoer who raised money for worthy causes,” continued Hearns.
Taylor partnered with Hugh McFarland to connect West Tampa to downtown Tampa via a bridge. The bridge was named in honor of Fortune Taylor.
“That bridge still exists today and they’re historic markers in the area on the east side of the bridge telling you the story of Fortune Taylor,” said Hearns.
Fortune Taylor died in 1906 and is buried in the Oaklawn Cemetery.
