Taft is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 250 at the 2010 census, a decline of 28.4 percent from the figure of 349 recorded in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. The town began as an all-black town on land allotted to

Creek Freedmen Creek Freedmen is a term for emancipated Creeks of African descent who were slaves of Muscogee Creek tribal members before 1866. They were emancipated under the tribe's 1866 treaty with the United States following the American Civil War, during w ...

. It is named for President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

History

This community began as an all-black town on land allotted to

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...

of the

Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the So ...

. It was originally named Twine, for William H. Twine, and had a post office by 1902. Twine moved to Muskogee, and the citizens voted to rename the town as Taft, for President William Howard Taft, who was then Secretary of War in the

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

administration.Larry O'Dell, "Taft," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed March 26, 2012 Educational and correctional facilities have long been the town's leading employers. These have included: 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 State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

. Taft also contains two penitentiaries: Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center, for women, and Jess Dunn Correctional Center, for men. A

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...

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 Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend across the United States. 26-year-old Skyler Buckner was charged in connection with the shooting.Timsit, Annabell
"U.S. marks Memorial Day weekend with at least 12 mass shootings" ''Washington Post'' (May 31, 2022)
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Geography

Taft is located at (35.762595, -95.546046). It is located approximately west of the city of Muskogee. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 349 people, 136 households, and 87 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 155 housing units at an average density of 101.2 per square mile (39.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.39%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 3.72%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 1.15% Native American, 0.29% from other races, and 9.46% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population. There were 136 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 23.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.30. In the town, the population was spread out, with 35.0% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 65.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $18,889, and the median income for a family was $26,500. Males had a median income of $20,417 versus $17,813 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $11,278. About 23.0% of families and 33.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 44.4% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Muskogee County, Oklahoma Towns in Oklahoma Populated places in Oklahoma established by African Americans African diaspora history Pre-statehood history of Oklahoma

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References