Cora V. Taylor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 1887 |
| Died | January 22, 1971 (aged 83) |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Known for | First woman in the United States issued a chauffeur's license |
Cora V. Taylor (March 1887 - January 22, 1971) was an American businesswoman from Michigan known for founding what is now the Indian Trails bus service with her husband Wayne Taylor. [1] [2] She was the first woman in the United States to be issued a chauffeur's license. [1]
Cora V. Phillips was born in March 1884 in Owosso, Michigan to Richard and Mary Phillips. She worked as a clerk at the D M Christian store in Owosso before her marriage to Wayne E. Taylor on 30 October 1907 [3] and the two owned a 600 acre stock farm in Owosso. [4]
The Taylors started the Phillips-Taylor Livery Service in 1910 which originally moved people and packages via Model T touring cars and autobuses from the local train station to locations around Shiawassee County. [2] [5] [6]
Wayne Taylor served in the Army Signal Corps in World War I and Cora ran the bus line. [7] She drove on some of the early routes, leading her to become the first woman issued a chauffeur's license in the US on April 19, 1914. The Taylors bought their first bus in 1915. [8]
As the bus line expanded and added Flint to their routes, the Owosso-Flint Bus Line became known as the Indian Trail Route because it traveled along US-12, known locally as the "Old Indian Trail". [9] Taylor was interested in Michigan history, researched the Michigan Native populations, and named each bus line after an Ottawa, Potawatomie or Chippewa tribal chief. [9] [8] The bus line eventually became known as Indian Trails in 1935. Taylor succeeded her husband as president of the company when he died in 1954. [6] The company was still owned by Taylor family members as of 2023. [2] [10]
Taylor was inducted into the Michigan Department of Transportation's Hall of Honor in 2006 and the Cora Taylor Safe Driving Award was created by Indian Trails in 2009. [11]