A history influenced by revolution,
meat packing, politics and a love for Opera.
meat packing, politics and a love for Opera.
A history influenced by revolution, meat packing, politics and a love for Opera.
Swipe below to move the timeline
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1677
Samuel Taylor sailed from England and settles in Chesterfield Township, western New Jersey. -
1763-1783
Samuel Taylor’s grandson, Colonel John Taylor originated the recipe for “Taylor” minced ham.
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1775-1783
Colonel John Taylor fought in the Revolution under General George Washington and supplied “Taylor” minced ham to the troops. The minced ham product was put into a cloth bag and smoked so that it could be carried by soldiers to eat along the march to battles in and around New Jersey. -
1776
During the momentous, Revolutionary Battle of Trenton, New Jersey, Colonel John Taylor supplied “Taylor” minced ham to General George Washington’s troops. -
1777
Colonel John Taylor, serving in the 4th Hunterdon Division, supplied “Taylor” minced ham to General George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary Battle of Princeton, New Jersey, which was another great victory and on par with the famous Battle of Trenton. -
1836
John S. Taylor is born on October 6th in Hamilton Square, NJ. -
1849
John Taylor is elected President of the Ex-Volunteer Fire Department in Harmony Township, New Jersey. -
1856
John Taylor refines his grandfather’s recipe to create Taylor “Sugar Cured” Ham. This formative recipe launches the commencement of what was to become, The Taylor Provisions Company. -
1859
John Taylor teams up with Daniel P. Forst and James Ronan of the Academy Street, NJ Grocery store. -
1860
General Lewis Perrine sold the south area of Perrine Farm to Taylor and Forst.
John Taylor marries Catherine Rowley. -
1861-1865
John Taylor supplied minced ham to the Union Troops fighting in the Civil War and serving Generals, Ulysses S. Grant, and William Tecumseh Sherman. -
1864
Harry C. Taylor, son of John Taylor and Catherine Rowley Taylor was born in September. -
1866
John Taylor organized the Trenton Hall & Building Association and was elected President. -
1867
Taylor Opera House was built by John Taylor and opens on March 18th.
Fred McNeely appointed Postmaster of the Post Office housed in the Taylor Opera House. George Matthews Harding was commissioned to paint a monumental mural of General George Washington crossing the Delaware for the lobby. -
1867
Taylor Opera House was built by John Taylor and opens on March 18th.
This marker states: TAYLOR OPERA HOUSE - Trenton's first theater, built here in 1867, presented everyone from Mark Twain and Ethel Barrymore to George M. Cohan before its 1921 conversion to a movie and vaudeville palace as the Capital Theatre. Governors George B. McClellan (1877) and Woodrow Wilson (1910) were both nominated and inaugurated here. -
1869
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) gives his famous “The American Vandal” lecture in the Taylor Opera House.
William T. Taylor, son of John Taylor and Catherine Rowley Taylor was born in October.
On December 15th, the Washington Market Association is formed.
Masonic Lodge Number 5 occupies space in the Taylor Opera House. -
1870
The Greene Street Market in Trenton, NJ is demolished and on April 1st, The Taylor Market opens with the help of Daniel P. Forst and Ferdinand W. Roebling. -
1872
John Taylor is elected to be a member of The Lotus Club in Trenton, NJ and leaves the grocery store business and starts his Taylor Pork-Packing Establishment and Cattle-Yards business. The business received cows and pigs from the west, slaughtered and packaged them, then shipped the meat to various parts of the US, the West Indies and South America. -
1877
Inauguration of Governor George B. McClellan at The Taylor Opera House. -
1880
John Taylor elected New Jersey State Senator 1880-83.
-
1884
John Taylor becomes a member of the Trenton Battle Monument Association. -
1885
John Taylor is elected the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Trenton, NJ City Council, Director of The First National Bank and The Peoples Electric Light Company, Board of Director of the Union Library and maintained a controlling interest in the vast Union Pottery Company. -
1888
Taylor’s Pork-Packing Establishment and Cattle-Yards Company is renamed The Taylor Provisions Company after the livestock, wool and fertilizer business develops and a railway system becomes integral to the transportation of the meat and pork products.
The Inter-State fair broke ground in July and was co-founded by John Taylor and John Guild Muirheid. In September, the Fair opened with the motto, “Bold, Brilliant, Successful.” -
1891
On December 26th, the cornerstone is laid for Princeton’s Battle Monument that commemorates the January 3rd, 1777 battle and depicts General George Washington leading his troops to victory. A commemorative program is also held at the Taylor Opera House where John Taylor’s son Harry is the manager. -
1901
125th Anniversary of the “Battle of Trenton” program at the Taylor Opera House. -
1903
Built by the Taylor Hall Associates, The Trenton Vaudeville Theater opens to rave reviews. -
1906
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 ruled that Taylor’s Ham Product could no longer be called Taylor Ham because the ham cut portion of the pig is not the only cut utilized. This is why the name was changed to Taylor’s Pork Roll. -
1909
February 10, 1909, John Taylor, who was State Senator from Mercer County from 1881 to 1883 and who built the Taylor Opera House in Trenton, died at the age of 72. Death was caused by paralysis. John Taylor was the head of The Taylor Provisions Company. -
1910
Inauguration of Governor Woodrow Wilson (President) at The Taylor Opera House. -
1914
James F. Felder was inaugurated the 35th Governor of New Jersey at The Taylor Opera House. -
1917
Walter Evans Edge was inaugurated the 36th Governor of New Jersey at The Taylor Opera House. -
1919
The Taylor Opera House and the Trent Theater were sold to Frank V. Storss for the sum of $440,000. -
1921
The Taylor Opera House was converted into a movie and vaudeville palace known as Keith’s Capitol Theatre and later became RKO International Theater. -
1939
The Taylor Provisions Company was a huge success at the NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR of 1939 at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York. The Colonial themed signs welcomed visitors and offered Taylor Pork Roll sandwiches for 10 cents. You could also “surprise the folks at home” with a six-pound Taylor Pork Roll for $3.00. -
1940
The Taylor Provisions Company starts to open “Taylor Sandwich Shops” in Trenton and Union, NJ as well as Philadelphia. -
1950
Taylor Sandwich Shops line the Jersey Shore from Asbury Park, Seaside, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Wildwood and to Cape May. -
1964
The NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR of 1964 was to open with a large “World of Food” pavilion. As other buildings progressed, the Food Pavilion did not and was torn down weeks before the grand opening. The Taylor Provisions Company was able to set up their exhibit and restaurant on the first mezzanine and the second floor inside the better living Center. There was a Taylor Sandwich Shop outside and at street level and overall, Taylor did exceptionally well at the fair. -
1969
The Taylor Opera House was razed and a parking lot was put in its place to serve the bank next door. -
1994
The Taylor Provisions Company sponsored the Trenton Thunder Baseball Team at Mercer County Waterfront Park, every year for the next 16 years. -
2023
The Taylor Provisions Company sponsors a race event at the New Egypt Speedway and displays a large billboard sign out front on Route 539.
-
1677
Samuel Taylor sailed from England and settles in Chesterfield Township, western New Jersey.
-
1763-1783
Samuel Taylor’s grandson, Colonel John Taylor originated the recipe for “Taylor” minced ham.
-
1775-1783
Colonel John Taylor fought in the Revolution under General George Washington and supplied “Taylor” minced ham - put into a cloth bag and smoked - to the troops.
-
1776
During the momentous, Revolutionary Battle of Trenton, New Jersey, Colonel John Taylor supplied “Taylor” minced ham to General George Washington’s troops.
-
1777
Colonel John Taylor, serving in the 4th Hunterdon Division, supplied “Taylor” minced ham to General George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary Battle of Princeton, New Jersey.
-
1836
John S. Taylor is born on October 6th in Hamilton Square, NJ.
-
1849
John Taylor is elected President of the Ex-Volunteer Fire Department in Harmony Township, New Jersey.
-
1856
John Taylor refines his grandfather’s recipe to create Taylor “Sugar Cured” Ham. This recipe launches what was to become The Taylor Provisions Company.
-
1859
John Taylor teams up with Daniel P. Forst and James Ronan of the Academy Street, NJ Grocery store.
-
1860
General Lewis Perrine sold the south area of Perrine Farm to Taylor and Forst.
John Taylor marries Catherine Rowley. -
1861-1865
John Taylor supplied minced ham to the Union Troops fighting in the Civil War and serving Generals, Ulysses S. Grant, and William Tecumseh Sherman.
-
1864
Harry C. Taylor, son of John Taylor and Catherine Rowley Taylor was born in September.
-
1866
John Taylor organized the Trenton Hall & Building Association and was elected President.
-
1867
Taylor Opera House was built by John Taylor and opens on March 18th.
-
1867
Fred McNeely appointed Postmaster of the Post Office housed in the Taylor Opera House.
-
1867
George Matthews Harding was commissioned to paint a monumental mural of General George Washington crossing the Delaware for the lobby.
-
1867
The Taylor Opera House, Trenton's first theater, built in 1867, presented everyone from Mark Twain and Ethel Barrymore to George M. Cohan before its 1921 conversion to the Capital Theatre.
-
1869
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) gives his famous “The American Vandal” lecture in the Taylor Opera House.
-
1869
William T. Taylor, son of John Taylor and Catherine Rowley Taylor was born in October.
On December 15th, the Washington Market Association is formed. -
1869
Masonic Lodge Number 5 occupies space in the Taylor Opera House.
-
1870
The Greene Street Market in Trenton, NJ is demolished and on April 1st, The Taylor Market opens with the help of Daniel P. Forst and Ferdinand W. Roebling.
-
1872
John Taylor is elected to The Lotus Club in Trenton, NJ and leaves the grocery store business and starts his Taylor Pork-Packing Establishment and Cattle-Yards business.
-
1877
Inauguration of Governor George B. McClellan at The Taylor Opera House.
-
1880
John Taylor elected New Jersey State Senator 1880-83.
-
1884
John Taylor becomes a member of the Trenton Battle Monument Association.
-
1885
John Taylor is elected the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Trenton, NJ City Council, Director of The First National Bank and The Peoples Electric Light Company, Board of Director of the Union Library and maintained a controlling interest in the vast Union Pottery Company.
-
1888
Taylor’s Pork-Packing Establishment and Cattle-Yards Company is renamed The Taylor Provisions Company and a railway system becomes integral to the transportation of the meat and pork products.
-
1891
The cornerstone is laid for Princeton’s Battle Monument. A commemorative program is also held at the Taylor Opera House where John Taylor’s son Harry is the manager.
-
1901
125th Anniversary of the “Battle of Trenton” program at the Taylor Opera House.
-
1903
Built by the Taylor Hall Associates, The Trenton Vaudeville Theater opens to rave reviews.
-
1906
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 ruled that Taylor’s Ham Product could no longer be called Taylor Ham because the ham cut portion of the pig is not the only cut utilized. This is why the name was changed to Taylor’s Pork Roll.
-
1909
February 10, 1909, John Taylor, who was State Senator from Mercer County from 1881 to 1883 and who built the Taylor Opera House in Trenton, died at the age of 72. Death was caused by paralysis. John Taylor was the head of The Taylor Provisions Company.
-
1910
Inauguration of Governor Woodrow Wilson (President) at The Taylor Opera House.
-
1914
James F. Felder was inaugurated the 35th Governor of New Jersey at The Taylor Opera House.
-
1917
Walter Evans Edge was inaugurated the 36th Governor of New Jersey at The Taylor Opera House.
-
1919
The Taylor Opera House and the Trent Theater were sold to Frank V. Storss for the sum of $440,000.
-
1921
The Taylor Opera House was converted into a movie and vaudeville palace known as Keith’s Capitol Theatre and later became RKO International Theater.
-
1939
The Taylor Provisions Company was a huge success at the NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR of 1939 at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York. The Colonial themed signs welcomed visitors and offered Taylor Pork Roll sandwiches for 10 cents.
-
1940
The Taylor Provisions Company starts to open “Taylor Sandwich Shops” in Trenton and Union, NJ as well as Philadelphia.
-
1950
Taylor Sandwich Shops line the Jersey Shore from Asbury Park, Seaside, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Wildwood and to Cape May.
-
1964
The NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR of 1964 was to open with a large “World of Food” pavilion. The Taylor Provisions Company was able to set up their exhibit and restaurant on the first mezzanine and the second floor inside the better living Center.
-
1969
The Taylor Opera House was razed and a parking lot was put in its place to serve the bank next door.
-
1994
The Taylor Provisions Company sponsored the Trenton Thunder Baseball Team at Mercer County Waterfront Park, every year for the next 16 years.
-
2023
The Taylor Provisions Company sponsors a race event at the New Egypt Speedway and displays a large billboard sign out front on Route 539.
For over 168 years, The Taylor Provisions Company has been steadfast in maintaining the highest standards of quality.
The first Taylor to set foot on the shores of North America was Samuel Taylor who sailed from England in 1677 and settled in Chesterfield Township in western New Jersey.
His grandson, Colonel John Taylor originated the recipe for minced ham.
In fact, through the years and over many decades, Taylor’s recipe for minced ham has been perfected into what we call today, Taylor Pork Roll.
Colonel Taylor was a purveyor of meat in the early 1770’s and his recipe for minced ham was a popular dish during the formative years of the United States.
Colonel Taylor also fought in the revolution under General George Washington and supplied minced ham to the troops at the Battle of Trenton and other revolutionary battles.
The Taylor Provisions Company was founded by Colonel Taylors’ direct descendant, John Taylor in 1856.
John Taylor, born in 1836, started out as a grocery clerk and became both a businessman and politician, and is considered the inventor of what we know today as pork roll.
John Taylor became a New Jersey State Senator from Mercer County and built the famous Taylor Opera House in Trenton (Opened March 18th, 1867, razed in 1969)
Famous stars and celebrities from Mark Twain and Ethel Barrymore to George M. Cohan were present at The Taylor Opera House.
The Taylor Opera House also hosted the inauguration of Governor George B. McClellan in 1877 and (President) Woodrow Wilson in 1910, James F. Fielder in 1914 (35th Governor of New Jersey) and Walter Evans Edge in 1917 (36th Governor of New Jersey)
In 1921, The Taylor Opera House was converted into a movie and vaudeville palace known as Keith’s Capitol Theatre and later it became RKO International.
John Taylor died in 1909 but his name very much lives on through Taylor Ham or Taylor Pork Roll made by The Taylor Provisions Company.
In the 1950’s at the peak of its retail operations at the Jersey Shore, Taylor Pork Roll had upwards of eight sandwich shops, including three in Atlantic City, two in Cape May and one each at Wildwood, Seaside and Asbury Park. The last Taylor Sandwich Shop was one in Cape May that closed when the operator retired in the early 1980’s.
Today, The Taylor Provisions Company is dedicated to making Taylor Pork Roll with much love and devotion and to satisfy the pork roll cravings of our ardent fans across the USA.
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