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Harry A. Hopkins (1882-1957), a prominent Bakersfield businessman and oilman of the Taft area. He was elected to the first board of trustees upon Taft's incorporation in 1910.

Stanley Abel (1892-1975), who served as Kern County's Fourth District Supervisor for 24 years. He served as publisher of Taft's Oilfield Dispatch. Mount Abel (Cerro Noroeste) and Abel Canyon were named after him. He resided in Kern County…

F. B. Henderson was active in the Taft oil industry in the early years of the 20th century. In 1903, he represented the Associated Oil Company at a state-wide oil industry conference.

William E. Youle (1847-1926) came to California in 1877 and helped drill the first commercial oil well in the state, in Bakersfield. He was active in the Maricopa and McKittrick oil fields, and he drilled the first oil well in the Midway field.

Edward L. Doheny (1856-1935), sometimes a controversial individual, made millions in the Kern County oilfields.

William E. Drury (1869-1944) founded Bakersfield Garage and Auto Supply Company and was director of the Kern County Automobile Club of Southern California.

Leonard Pressley St. Clair (1871-1960) was a pioneer in the development of Kern County's oil industry and former president of Union Oil Company.

James W. Jameson (1862-1934) was a pioneer California oil executive. He discovered Kern County's Midway oil field and also had business interests in building and cement corporations in Southern California.

Charles Adelbert Canfield (1848-1913), in partnership with Joseph Chanslor, formed Kern County's Chanslor-Canfield and Midway Oil Company.

Lew Suverkrop (1895-1965) was an inventor, geologist, and engineer. He made the front page of the Bakersfield Californian on April 15, 1939, for his hand transit, an optical instrument that proved useful in surveying.