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B−History
History · Taft

Taft’s post office opened in 1904, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #129 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 60 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1930.

1904first post office
2on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Taft’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Taft began

When was Taft founded?

1904

The Taft post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,792 in 19302020 census: 2,801122 years

How historic is Taft?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Taft post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Taft’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Taft is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #129 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Taft’s overall grade.
Founding era1904, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194010.8% of homes (±7.1) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 60 historic buildings, 209 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 80%

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Taft’s 209 sits above most of its state (98% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 60 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Taft’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Taft Public Housing Development (North) takes in 30 historic buildings.On the map since 19254 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1975. Watch Taft change.Old housesHalf of Taft’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 60 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
60
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Taft Public Housing Development (North)
Taft Public Housing Development (North)Taft Public Housing Development (South)
Districts
Taft Public Housing Development (North)District
Taft Public Housing Development (South)District

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

On the map

Taft on the map, 1925 to 1975

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Taft. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Taft on the 1925 USGS mapTaft on the 1951 USGS mapTaft on the 1969 USGS mapTaft on the 1975 USGS map1925Corpus Christi sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Taft.

The story

How Taft came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Taft.

Read it all →

Taft, often called the "Friendliest Cotton-Pickin' Town in Texas", is not only rich in cotton, but also gas and oil resources. Taft was once the center of the million acre Taft Ranch. The ranch was built and owned by Charles Phelps Taft, the half-brother of President William Howard Taft. The nearby city of Sinton, Texas is named for his father-in-law David Sinton. The Blackland Museum houses everything from antique farm equipment to personal and household items used by the town's earliest inhabitants.

On the evening of 25 August 2017, Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 Hurricane, made landfall near Rockport, Texas approximately

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Taft, 1904 to 1984

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Taft post office opens
  3. 1922In the archiveThe Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 1922 - DPLA - 7…
  4. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1940In the archiveCotton seed oil mill. Taft, Texas
  6. 1940Born hereWilliam D. Wittliff is born here
  7. 1984Born hereBrian Bonner is born here
By decade

Taft, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1940s5 items
The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 1922 - DPLA - 7bc62d520fa714da9fcf01b911ce242…1922The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 …The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 1922 - DPLA - 7bc62d520fa714da9fcf01b911ce242…1922The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 …The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 1922 - DPLA - 7bc62d520fa714da9fcf01b911ce242…1922The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 …The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 1922 - DPLA - 7bc62d520fa714da9fcf01b911ce242…1922The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 …Cotton seed oil mill. Taft, Texas1940Cotton seed oil mill. Taft, Texas
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Taft, Texas2002Taft, Texas
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

The Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 1922 - DPLA - 7bc62d520fa714da9fcf01b911ce242…
Retake this viewThe Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 1922 - DPLA - 7bc62d520fa714da9fcf01b911ce242…, 1922

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Taft’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Taft, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00019401960198020002020Peak: 3,686

Between 1,792 and 3,686 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Taft’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Taft

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
W
William D. WittliffAmerican screenwriter, photographer, and curator · b. 1940
B
Brian BonnerPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1984
Help out

Finish Taft’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThe Taft Tribune (Taft, Tex.), Vol. 2, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Taft SouthwestIts storyC+

Questions about Taft’s history

What year was Taft founded?

The Taft post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Taft rank for history?

Taft is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #129 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Taft?

Two places: the Taft Public Housing Development (North) (listed 2018) and the Taft Public Housing Development (South) (2018).

How old are the homes in Taft?

11% of Taft’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1964.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.