Taylor’s Place — Creating Memories

01 — A place for healing

Built with a purpose.

Taylor’s Place is a private sanctuary nestled on thirty acres in Columbus, Texas, where families with terminally ill members can step away from the calendar and simply be together.

When illness enters a family, every day starts to belong to someone else: the next appointment, the next decision, the next drive. Taylor’s Place gives that time back. For three days and two nights, the whole property is theirs. The house, the pond, the pool, the porch, and thirty quiet acres where nobody is in a hurry.

The Cotton Foundation is building Taylor’s Place alongside community-minded partners and individuals who share the vision. Help us build a community where families come together to find healing. Whether sponsoring a complete package or making a gift, there are plenty of ways to support Taylor’s Place.

The legacy of Tom Wallace

A life dedicated to family and community.

Tom Wallace laughing as he holds his infant daughter Taylor up in front of him
Tom Wallace with Taylor on his shoulder, both smiling
Tom Wallace and Taylor on a hayride, her face painted, laughing together
Tom Wallace with his wife and daughter Taylor

Taylor’s Place was inspired by the example of a beloved friend, colleague, and member of the Cotton family, Tom Wallace.

During a four-year battle with cancer, Tom did not spend his time lamenting his illness. He spent it on the people he loved. He gave himself to his friends, to his family, and to anyone who needed him, because he understood something most of us learn too late: the memories a family makes together are the only thing that outlasts everything else.

Although his time was brief, Tom knew that his young family, his wife and his four-year-old daughter, Taylor, would carry the memories he made with them in his last years for the rest of theirs.

Tom Wallace was a man of great determination, a positive spirit, and a caring heart: a beloved friend, brother, father, and husband. Pete Bell, James Scaife, and Susan Link, their former chief of staff, came up with the idea for Taylor’s Place together, and the Cotton Foundation built it in Tom’s memory, honoring his commitment to giving back and to building lasting bonds between people. The unforgettable memories and lifelong bonds created here will be his fitting legacy.

Taylor’s Place gives families the one thing Tom gave his: time together, spent well.

Meet Taylor Odum

Taylor, the namesake of Taylor’s Place, is the inspiration behind this mission. Inspired by her father and his legacy, Taylor studied biology and chemistry at New York University and is pursuing a career in oncology, honoring both her father and the families the Foundation serves.

Your stay

Rest. Reconnect. Remember.

A few days at Taylor’s Place are unhurried by design. Here is what a family can expect.

  • The front of the Taylor’s Place house: a white farmhouse-style building with the name over the porch and the words “Where families can just be a family”

    The house is yours

    A main house with room for everyone: a full kitchen, places to gather, a movie library and games for the evenings, and a porch for the mornings.

  • Taylor’s Place from the air: the barn, the house, and open pasture running to the tree line

    The land is quiet

    Thirty acres in Columbus, Texas: a pond to fish, picnic areas under the trees, a backyard pool, and long views with nothing to do but take them in.

  • The playroom inside the house, with an easel, art supplies, and a teddy bear waiting on a stool

    The time is protected

    One family at a time, with the whole property to yourselves. Someone from the Foundation is a phone call away, and otherwise, the time belongs to you.

The property

Built in two phases.

Phase 1, the main house and the grounds around it, is finished. Phase 2 adds the music hall, a chapel, and new places to gather, starting January 2027.

  • The backyard pool and a row of loungers, with the basketball court beyond
    Phase 1

    The House & Grounds

    The heart of Taylor’s Place, on the water.

    • Fishing on the pond
    • Picnic areas
    • A backyard pool
    • Games and a movie library
    • Horses and the barn
    • Basketball and pickleball courts
    • A playground
  • An artist painting a watercolor of the house
    Phase 2 · Planned for January 2027

    The Music Hall & Chapel

    More ways to spend a day together.

    • A music hall
    • A chapel
    • A fishing pier
    • A fire pit
Around the property

Photographs from Taylor’s Place

  • Two horses at the Taylor’s Place gate
  • The house under construction, seen from above, with the pond and pasture behind it
  • Six members of the Taylor’s Place team standing arm in arm in front of the house during construction
  • An artist painting a watercolor of the house
  • Walking through the house while it was still being built
  • Three members of the team in the doorway of the barn

Taylor’s Place, Columbus, Texas. “Where families can just be a family.”

Two members of the Taylor's Place team reviewing construction plans on the property
Walking the plans on the property, spring 2025.
Construction progress

From plans to porch.

Taylor’s Place broke ground in 2025 and the house was finished in 2026. Here is where things stand, and what comes next.

  1. 2025Ground broken

    Site work begins on thirty acres in Columbus, Texas.

  2. 2026The house is finished

    Phase 1 complete: the house, the pool, the courts, the playground, the barn, and the grounds around them.

  3. December 2026The first family arrives

    Taylor’s Place opens its gate.

  4. January 2027Phase 2 begins

    The music hall, chapel, fishing pier, and fire pit, funded by donors, sponsors, and CrawFest.

Request a visit

Every stay begins with a conversation.

If your family, or a family you care for, is facing terminal illness, we would like to hear from you.

  1. Apply

    Complete a short application about your family and what a stay would mean to you. It takes about ten minutes.

  2. Talk with us

    Someone from the Foundation reaches out personally to talk through timing, needs, and any questions.

  3. Come stay

    We set the dates together and get the house ready. Then the time is yours.

Support Taylor’s Place

Put your name on a piece of the place.

Whether sponsoring a complete package or making a single gift, there are plenty of ways to support Taylor’s Place.

Sponsorships fund specific parts of the property, from the house and the pond to the music hall, chapel, fishing pier, and fire pit in Phase 2. We’re glad to walk you through the sponsorship catalog and find the fit for your family, your company, or your community.

Support Taylor’s Place

Help us welcome the next family through the gate.

Whether sponsoring a complete package or making a gift, there are plenty of ways to support Taylor’s Place.