thumb|Taft City Hall in March of 2026
thumb|Gazebo in Taft with Taft Volunteer Fire Dept. in background, March 2026
Taft is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 174 as of the 2020 Census,
Educational and correctional facilities have long been the town's leading employers. These have included the W. T. Vernon School (1908), the Industrial Institute for the Deaf, Blind, and Orphans of the Colored Race (1909), Moton High School, and the State Training School for Negro Girls.
A mass shooting incident occurred at an outdoor Memorial Day event in Taft, shortly after midnight on May 29, 2022. Seven people were reported to be injured, with a 39-year-old woman killed. Media accounts say that this incident was one of at least 12 mass shooting events that occurred over the Memorial Day weekend across the United States. 26-year-old Skyler Buckner was charged in connection with the shooting.
Geography
Taft is in northwestern Muskogee County, approximately west of Muskogee, the county seat. It is less than south of the Arkansas River.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.39%, are water.
| align = right
| align-fn = center
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Taft town, Oklahoma – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White alone (NH)
|13
|16
|style='background: #ffffe6; |14
|3.72%
|6.40%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.05%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|297
|205
|style='background: #ffffe6; |137
|85.10%
|82.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |78.74%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|4
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9
|1.15%
|3.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.17%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|33
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13
|9.46%
|3.60%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.47%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|2
|12
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.57%
|4.80%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.57%
|-
|Total
|349
|250
|style='background: #ffffe6; |174
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Taft had a population of 174. The median age was 51.5 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 29.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 79.0 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 84 households in Taft, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.3% were married-couple households, 19.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 44.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
See also
- Boley, Brooksville, Clearview, Grayson, Langston, Lima, Redbird, Rentiesville, Summit, Tatums, Tullahassee, and Vernon, other "All-Black" settlements that were part of the Land Run of 1889.