John Taylor – a pioneer and pillar of Headingley

Charleswood

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2025 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’ve heard of John Taylor Collegiate, and I drive down Taylor Avenue all the time, but I never made a connection between the two. I found out why the Taylor name was prominent in and around Winnipeg when I heard Stephen Britton talk about his great-great-great grandfather, John Taylor, at the fifth session in the heritage series at Charleswood Historical Society.

Born in 1834 in Middlechurch (a village near the present-day Forks), John Taylor lived 91 years and packed a lot of living into those years. He spent half of his life in the Red River colony as a born Manitoban (a term that had been adopted to describe those who were born in Manitoba, not settlers of European Canadian descent – the majority of which were French, Scottish and English).

The Hudson Bay Company was the economic driver of the time. Everything revolved around the fur trade industry, and those who serviced the fur trade. Under Bishop David Anderson, who managed the Anglican Church, a school was established to educate the children of the managers of the Hudson Bay Company. The son of a HBC manager, Taylor was sent to St. Paul parish school in Middlechurch and later attended St. John’s Collegiate. Students were picked to attend the collegiate, and John Taylor was one of them. That opportunity undoubtedly became the catalyst for his dedication to public education.

Taylor became a qualified teacher, taught school in northern Manitoba and was Headingley’s first teacher. Believing education to be the cornerstone of democracy and economic prosperity, his commitment to education is reflected in his role as school trustee and secretary treasurer of the Headingley School Board for more than 30 years.

Taylor’s long and active career in politics began in the early 1870s, starting with his election as representative of the constituency of Headingley. In 1871, at Manitoba’s first session of the legislative assembly, John Taylor was among the 24 newly elected MLAs. In 1878, Taylor was appointed minister of agriculture by John Norquay, the first Premier of Manitoba. He resigned two years later and became a councillor for the newly created R.M. of Assiniboia, where he served for seven terms.

In addition to an influential political career, Taylor was a very successful farmer, owning 1,700 acres of land in Cartier and Headingley. He was also a businessman, whose interests included a store and a blacksmith shop. He became postmaster and justice of the peace, opened a barber shop and built a hotel.

Taylor’s personal life was not without difficulties. His 16-year marriage to Flora Campbell produced eight children, four of which died and Flora herself died at age 36. He later married Francis Jane Brown and they had 14 children during their 40-year marriage.

In his later years, Taylor undertook philanthropic projects such as donating land to the Anglican and United churches and was he very involved in the community, spearheading many popular annual agricultural events. In 1915, he built the “Headingley House”, which was called the most beautiful house in Headingley at the time. The family lived there until his death in 1925.

Taylor’s portrait hangs in John Taylor Collegiate, in recognition of his commitment to education. Taylor Farms and Taylor Bridge are also named after this pillar of the community of Headingley.