Cora V. Taylor

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]