Event Information
With a list of owners that reads like a Who’s Who of Farmington’s beginning society, The “Josie’s Girls” Tour and Tea will take you back in time from 1893 forward to the era of the “five and dimes.” Through stories about Josie’s Girls,” Mary Jo Taylor Walters, Norma Taylor Evans, Audrey Taylor Packer, Thelma Taylor Hastings, Louise Taylor Jolley, and Rosalind Taylor Bliss, you will be treated to a tour of the historic home built in 1909, a legacy of Taylor commerce, and a taste of how it was to grow up on Farmington’s Main Street. Following the tour, the San Juan County Historic Society will serve tea and pastries.
Elmer A. "Fon" and his wife Josephine “Josie” Foutz Taylor bought the estate in 1937 bringing their daughters from their Sheep springs trading post located on the Navajo reservation to town so the girls could attend Farmington’s high school.
Josie’s Girls danced into town like a whirlwind. When the high desert dust settled, all of the young men were peddling their bicycles, circling along the dirt road that is now West Main Street in hopes of a dance with one of the beauties. The moment was never dull when one of Josie’s girls was nearby.
The girls grew to become Farmington’s “movers and shakers” for their time and often a first for women’s achievement and bringing new ideas to Farmington’s business table. In 1994, Josie’s Girls were each presented with the “Outstanding Women of the Year” by the American Association of University Women for their contribution to Farmington and San Juan County.
The “Josie’s Girls” Tour & Tea is a must for lovers of history, women’s achievement history, culture, 19th century architecture, perhaps a ghost, and real-life stories that will remind you of your own life’s dance with its joys, successes, tragedies and laughter.
The tour features Josie's last surviving daughter,” Audrey Taylor Packer, who at 95 is still dancing and she may do a Buffalo Step for you.
The “Josie’s Girls” Tour & Tea promises to be a don’t-miss San Juan County Historical Society event with guided 1-1/2 hour tours at 1 and 3 o’clock at the Historic Mary Jo Walters Property.
