Taft, FL

Taft is an unincorporated community and census-designated place about eight miles south of Orlando, set between the Orlando airport, Sky Lake, Pine Castle, Southchase, and Meadow Woods. The 2020 census counted 2,221 residents. It is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee metro, but the local map still has its own name and its own rhythm. Orange Avenue runs through the community, with the airport just east and Orlando's larger grid north. Local roads still carry the names and habits of the older place, even as subdivisions and airport jobs fill in the gaps.

Taft has worn several names over the years, including Newelton, Big Cypress, and Smithville. It incorporated in 1912, then the town government disappeared in 1933, while the community itself carried on. Residents later built a community center, organized a water association, and kept local memories together through the Taft Historical Society. These days Taft is a south-Orlando neighborhood with a long rural-to-metro transition, old family connections, and a very central location.