The Reece Museum Exhibition Publications

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Introduction

The primary purpose of creating an exhibition showcasing the clothing of Louise St. John Taylor (July 5, 1897 – Sept. 29, 1998), is to tell the story of her life through means of object-based storytelling, utilizing her clothing and related artifacts from the Reece Museum’s permanent collection. Significant artifacts associated with her various styles weave a tapestry of her life, commemorate different eras, and showcase the diversity in her collection. The displayed articles of clothing and accessories were donated by the family of Mrs. Taylor. The artifacts outside of her collection chosen to accompany her clothing come from the Harris Family Collection and smaller subcollections within the Reece Museum’s permanent collection. The scope of these artifacts includes Victorian era items such as a silver-plated tea service set, a Singer chainstitch sewing machine, and various pieces of Red Cross memorabilia.

Louise Avery St. John Taylor was born in Johnson City, Tennessee, as the second of three eventual children, to Frank Blair and Julia Love St. John. A lifelong resident of Johnson City, Louise was considered prominent within the city’s social scene during the 20th century and held familial ties to influential people and structures in the area. She was the paternal granddaughter of G.W. St. John, owner of the St. John Mill (also referred to as the St. John Milling Company, or the Dungan-St. John Mill), which came to be known as the longest running business in Tennessee, after being continually passed down to his descendants, allowing for over 200 years of continuous service. Additionally, she married into the Taylor family, which held great political significance in Tennessee. She became the daughter-in-law of the late Robert Love Taylor (1850- 1912), a Democratic politician and the twenty fourth governor of Tennessee, through her marriage to his younger son, David Haynes Taylor, in 1927.

Outside of her familial ties, she is remembered as a private and independent woman who worked her entire life. Her occupational endeavors have included various positions of governmental and community service with organizations such as the American Red Cross of Washington County and the Monday Club. Louise was granted accolades for her levels of service, including recognition for her work as a field representative at the annual Red Cross luncheon in 1963, being elected president of the Monday Club from 1964-1965, and being awarded chapter chairmanship of the organization in 1965.

Louise saw the majority of the 20th century and its plentiful changes due to living to be 101 years old. As Johnson City evolved throughout the 20th century, so, too, did her wardrobe. The styles in her collection cover those from a variety of decades, such as art~deco and similarly styled dresses, popular in her youth in the 1920s, velvet, chiffon, or satin floor-length gowns that rose to prominence in the 1930s, and dresses showcasing traits of the Victorian (1837-1901) and Edwardian (1901-1914) eras that she was said to prefer characteristics of in her later years.

Start Date

2-27-2026

End Date

5-28-2026

Exhibition

Grace Jonas (Curation)

Artifacts

Emily Robertson Whittier; Jason and Amy Ware; The Estate of Louise St. John Taylor

Reece Museum Staff

Rebecca Proffitt (Reece Museum Director); Savannah Bennet (Collections Manager); Spenser Brenner (Exhibition Coordinator); Ashley Gregg (Education Coordinator); Grace Jonas (Graduate Assistant);

Decades of Dress: The Collection of Mrs. Louise St. John Taylor

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