About
Z. Taylor Brown Brings "Steam Laundry" Invention from World's Fair to Midland, Texas in 1904 Austin, Texas-based Jack Brown Cleaners is a family-owned and operated dry cleaning company with its roots in the very beginnings of the dry cleaning industry. In 1904, Jack Brown's grandfather, Z. Taylor Brown, an engineer and attorney, went to the World's Fair in St. Louis and was so fascinated by the working exhibit of a "steam laundry", he bought it on the spot and had it shipped back by rail to his home in Midland, Texas. It sat in storage until 1907, when he gave it to his son, Paul, as a wedding present. Paul installed the equipment and began taking in laundry from Midland residents, even...