A blaze that destroyed one of Taylor’s most historically significant cultural centers founded to serve the city’s Black community remains under investigation, officials said.
No cause has been ruled yet in the blaze that reduced the Dickey-Givens Community Center, 903 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. in Fannie Robinson Park, to smoking ruins.
Firefighters at 8:45 a.m. Sunday rushed to the site and brought the flames under control by 10 a.m., though the building was deemed “a total loss,” according to a city spokesman.
The building, which had been at its present location since 1960, is just down the block from the modern Dickey-Givens Community Center at 1015 E. MLK Jr. Blvd.
The older building received a historic designation from the state in the fall. Community members are vowing to rebuild the structure.
The Taylor Fire Department is working with state and local agencies to determine the cause of the conflagration, according to a city press release.
“Today we experienced the loss of a building here in town, the former Taylor Community Center, that held deep cultural, historical and emotional meaning for the African American community here in Taylor,” said police Commander Joseph Branson. “The loss of this building is a tragedy, and we are working with the Taylor Fire Department to figure out how this happened.” Don Hill, Taylor’s first African American mayor who was also involved in an effort to renovate the center, said the community is reeling from the loss.
“I am sad this happened,” said Hill, 87. “This is another piece of African American history that just went away. We were at the point of putting together a lease with the city to get ready to renovate it. But our plans are to rebuild.”
The genesis of the community center began in 1940— during the height of segregation— through the efforts of the Welfare Workers Club, a long-serving Taylor women’s organization created in 1935 by Magnolia P. Dickey, the wife of famous Black physician and humanitarian Dr. James L. Dickey, as an auxiliary to the Black Chamber of Commerce.
The building at 903 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. took center stage Nov. 2 with a ceremony highlighting a metal plaque from the Texas Historical Commission lauding the Welfare Workers Club.
At the time, supporters said renovating the building was the next focus.
In 2016, the center was renamed after James L. Dickey and teacher Lessie Givens, both of whom served many families in the region, officials said.
The community center was originally located on the old Blackshear School property on Gym Street but moved to the park 65 years ago and was used for a variety of purposes— including baptisms, weddings, Girl Scout meetings, health seminars, exercise classes and even church services until about seven or eight years ago, according to Hill and his wife, Leslie Hill, another community leader.
“This hurts,” said Leslie Hill, 82, who was working with her husband to renovate the structure. “The building was a facility built for the African American community to use during segregation because there wasn’t a building for us then. Blacks had no place for public meetings except their churches at that time.”
According to reports, this is not the first historical structure associated with the Dickey name destroyed by fire in Taylor.
Three years ago, the historic family home of the Dickeys, located at 500 Burkett St., was reduced to ruins on the eve of opening as the nonprofit Dickey Museum & Multipurpose Center, which officials said they are also committed to rebuilding.
Investigators ruled arson as the cause of the fire.
Though an arrest was made, a Williamson County grand jury declined to issue an indictment due to a lack of evidence.
Other community leaders expressed concern and sympathy over Sunday’s blaze.
“It was with great sadness that I visited the site of the Dickey-Givens Center yesterday,” Mayor Dwayne Ariola said Monday. “This facility held deep historical and emotional significance for our community.”
Ariola said city officials had discussed repairing the building, but those considerations ultimately were abandoned.
“In 2018, we explored options to refurbish it, but the scope of work proved too extensive,” he said. “That effort ultimately led the City Council to support the construction of the new Dickey-Givens Community Center—a vibrant, model facility that now serves as a hub of activity and connection for residents.”
Investigators will use every resource at their disposal to learn what sparked the blaze this past weekend, the mayor said.
“We are committed to a full and thorough investigation into the cause of the fire,” Ariola added.
Taylor Press Editor Jason Chlapek contributed to this story.
