Taft is a south Texas town with cotton gins and oil fields
Not only is Taft known as the “Friendliest Cotton-Pickin’ Town in Texas,” but it’s also less than 20 minutes from the boats and beaches of Corpus Christi. Originally a 200,000-acre ranch owned by Charles Phelps Taft, the half-brother of 27th President William Howard Taft, the area saw an industrial boom in the 1900s with new mills, factories, plants and cotton gins. Today, two grain elevators continue to process cotton and corn for local farmers while oil drilling occurs north of town. Couple that with reasonably priced homes, local parks and a highway that runs all the way through San Patricio County, and Taft is an agricultural community with a convenient location by the Gulf Coast.
Local parks, beaches and a museum
There are several parks and green spaces around Taft. There are a few playgrounds to the north in the Taft City Park and Gibson Park, while Hildalgo Park has a basketball court and an open field for yard sports. The Taft Public Recreational Complex has baseball fields and tennis courts, and the Friends of the Taft City Parks organization manages youth programs for flag football, cheerleading and basketball. The Blackland Museum gives a glimpse at Taft’s early history through old photographs and antique farm equipment. The Corpus Christi and Nueces Bays are around 16 miles southeast with coastal activities such as kayaking, windsurfing and parasailing.
Traditional bricks and manufactured homes
Old single-family homes are established on grid-like streets north and south of the main road. Cracked pavements lead to streetscapes with sidewalks, landscaped bushes and wooden fences, and many homes will have boats and RVs parked in their driveways that are well-shaded by tall, lush trees. One-story fixer-uppers and manufactured homes were built between the 1930s and 1950s and cost between $39,000 and $99,000. Brick veneer homes that are less than 1,000 square feet with quarter-acre lots range from $135,000 to $175,000. Traditional homes with in-ground pools and two-car garages sell for $200,000 to $250,000.
Mexican restaurants, hardware stores and a barbecue joint
Many Mexican restaurants can be found alongside the main route into town, including the El Mexicano Restaurant, Taqueria Mi Ranchito and the Agave Jalisco Mexican Restaurant. Brisket Joe’s BBQ has been smoking beef brisket and ribs since 2022. There’s a Whataburger restaurant and a Hunt Brothers Pizza at the local Shell gas station, while local retail includes a variety of hardware and home goods stores, plus a Daisies N Denim boutique shop. While groceries are available at the Dollar General in town, many more will travel over 8 miles away to shop at H-E-B in Sinton or Portland.
Three schools in Taft ISD
The Taft Independent School District serves over 800 students in the community and has a C on Niche. Woodrow Petty Elementary earns a C-minus, while Ricardo L. Trevino Junior High has a C. Taft High School has a 12-to-1 student-teacher ratio and earns a B-minus.
A highway between Portland and Corpus Christi
U.S. Route 181 is the main road through town and leads around 19 miles south to Corpus Christi. The ER 24/7 Portland Hospital is around 10 miles southeast, while Corpus Christi International Airport is around 25 miles south. The Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority offers fixed-route public transportation between the bus stop at Gregory and Nueces County with additional routes to Robstown, Padre Island and Port Aransas.
