Bay City Tribune

Taylor-Steves Furniture Co., one of the oldest family-owned businesses in town, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, bringing quality furniture and service to Bay City and Matagorda County for four generations.

The third-generation current president and general manager of the company, Taylor Steves, said the key to the company's longevity is value, quality and customer service.

"We try to service what we sell," Steves said. "It's not easy for a small company to compete with 'big box' retailers but we do so by offering quality and value in home furnishings and providing complete customer service and free delivery."

The family has been active in a variety of community organizations and activities over their long history, serving Bay City residents as devoted business professionals and caring neighbors.

The company began in 1909 as Taylor-Hill Furniture and Undertaking, supplying a lifetime of furnishings - everything from cribs to coffins. The founders were Henry Hill, F.G. Ludwig, Sr. and Seth S. Taylor.

Taylor later bought out his partners' interest but continued to operate the company under the same name until his brother Frank Shaw Taylor joined the business in 1918.

The furniture store and funeral parlor then changed its name to Taylor Brothers and moved from its original site to a building on the courthouse square.

Seth Taylor's son-in-law, Bert C. Steves, joined the company in 1937. By that time, the company had moved to larger quarters at the corner of Seventh Street and Avenue G. That same year a branch opened in Palacios.

Bert Steves became the prime operator of the venture in 1952 when Frank Shaw Taylor and his sons, Van Shaw Taylor and Don Jean Taylor, broke off to form Taylor Brothers Funeral Home.

The current president, Taylor Steves, joined the company in 1959. The store relocated to its current 20,000-square-foot-facility at 1521 Sixth Street in 1966.

The Steves are proud of their family involvement in the business.

Taylor Steves' daughter, Mary Frances Hatchett, joined the company in 1983 as the interior designer and a furniture and accessory buyer. Another daughter, Jean Claire Muskiet, serves as the accounting and data processing manager. His son, Scott Taylor Steves, joined the company in 1987 and later moved on to start his own business in 1992. He remains involved in the operation as the company accountant. Albert Franklin, Steves' brother-in-law, is the traffic manager of the store.

Additional family members who help in store operations are Steves' wife of 50 years, Sandra, and his sisters Savanna Franklin and Diana Null.

The Steves Family wishes to express their heartfelt appreciation and thanks to all their customers who have supported the business throughout the years, said Steves.

"The family looks forward to maintaining the furniture store's down-home, family-style operation of the business in the future."