Taylor was impressed by his time in Guernsey County that he bought property in Cambridge and lived in a simple wood-frame home on Wheeling Avenue. He would later construct his elegant Queen Anne Style home in 1878 on Upland Drive and constructed the Berwick Hotel on the site of the house on Wheeling Avenue. In 1860 he opened his law practice and in 1861 started the Guernsey Times Newspaper. He would remain owner until 1871. Taylor rose in prominence as he made a name for himself in the courts as well as his newspaper articles. Leading up to the Civil War, Taylor ran articles denouncing slavery and called for negotiation to eliminate the practice.