McKanlass Colored Specialty Company
One of the great things about working on the biography of Taylor and Rose Gordon is that I’ve been able to discover a lot of information about African Americans living in Montana before 1900. Not only was there an active African American community in the Gordons’ hometown of White Sulphur Springs, but there were also African Americans coming in an out of the area as part of travelling musical and theatrical shows. The Fisk Jubilee Singers from Nashville performed in White Sulphur, as did other touring companies made up of predominantly African American performers. One touring group, the McKanlass Colored Specialty Company, advertised their performance in the June 14, 1888, edition of the Rocky Mountain Husbandman.
Click her for more information about the McKanlass family and their contributions to American music.
