Til Taylor

Welcome to the first stop on the Pendleton Bronze Trail! We begin the trail with this iconic representation of Sheriff Til Taylor. This piece was sculpted by famous American artist Alexander Phimister Proctor in 1929. This would be the first bronze statue in Pendleton. Sheriff Til Taylor served the city faithfully for 18 years as an enthusiastic supporter of the Pendleton Round-Up. Each year, he would shed his typical somber suit for a more colorful cowboy get-up and served as the Round-Up Board’s President in 1912. His leadership was tested one fateful day in July of 1920 when five of Taylor’s jailed convicts scuffled with him. Taylor’s gun fell from his holster, and one of the five convicts used it to shoot Taylor. True to his tough character, the tenacious Sheriff directed the search for his assailants while he lay mortally wounded.