Presidential Places: William Howard Taft National Historic Site
I have a tradition that, once a year, I see a major league baseball game at a stadium I've never been to before. This year one of the places on the short list is Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. One of the things that makes this an appealing choice is that if I went to Cincinnati, I would also be able to visit William Howard Taft National Historic Site, located less than two miles from the ballpark.
This historic site is located at 2038 Auburn Avenue in the Mount Auburn Historic District, a once-affluent suburb about a mile north of downtown Cincinnati. It is maintained by the National Park Service of the United States and was established in 1969. At the site is the house where President William Howard Taft was born in 1857. he lived in that house for most of his first 25 years. The two-story house was built in the mid 1830s. Taft's father Alonzo Taft moved his family into the home in 1851. The house is believed to have been built by a family named Bowen. Alphonso bought the house with its accompanying 2 acres for $10,000 on June 13, 1851. Mount Auburn was once a popular area to live for upper-class Cincinnatians.
Alphonso's wife Fanny Phelps Taft died a year after the family moved to the Mount Auburn residence, in June 1852. In 1854 Alphonso remarried. His second wife was a schoolteacher from Massachusetts named Louise Torrey. Louise Taft was the mother of William Howard Taft, who was born in the house on September 15, 1857. Alphonso had six children living in the house, two by Fanny (three others had died beforehand) and four by Louise.
William Howard taft lived in the house until he went to Yale University in 1874. In 1878 a fire damaged the second floor and roof. Alphonso and Louise leased the house in 1889, moving to California for health reasons. William had married three years earlier, and the rest of the Taft children had moved out previously as well. In May 1891 Alphonso died in San Diego, California, and was buried in Cincinnati. The tenants of the Auburn house allowed the mourners to gather at the house for the funeral. Louise sold the house in 1899 to Judge Albert C. Thompson and returned to her home town of Millbury, Massachusetts, to live with her sister.
Upon Judge Thompson's death. the house was sold by his widow to Colonel Ernest H. Ruffner in 1912 and on Ruffner's death it was sold by his daughter. The William Howard Taft Memorial Association was formed on July 7, 1937, in hopes of buying the property, but Robert Taft thought it would look too opportunistic to memorialize the house his father grew up in. In the 1940s the building was used as apartments, with the new owner Elbert R. Bellinger once considering selling it to become a funeral parlor for local African-Americans. In 1953, the William Howard Taft Memorial Association acquired the house for $35,000. The house was in poor condition and needed over $90,000 worth of restoration. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The association gained full title to the house in 1968 and in 1969 transferred it to the National Park Service, which currently operates the site as a historic house museum, so that its future upkeep is ensured. The United States government took the property title on November 1, 1970.
Today the site has two main buildings. The first is the original home owned by William Howard Taft's parents, Alphonso and Louise Taft. It has been restored to look as it did during the time William lived there. All the family portraits and many of the books on display belonged to the Taft family. The first floor has five rooms restored: William's birthplace, and four rooms representative of the period. The furniture is period pieces and did not necessarily belong to the Tafts. The second floor contains exhibits on the accomplishments of President Taft. The second building is the National Historic Site's Visitor Center, officially called the Taft Education Center. It has offices, a National Park giftshop, an audio-animatronic exhibit of William's son Charles Phelps Taft II fishing and telling stories about his father and other members of the Taft family, and a short biographical film on William Howard Taft.
Following is more information about the Taft Historic site:
Website: http://www.nps.gov/wiho/index.htm
Location: 2038 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
Hours of Operation: Seven days a week from 8:00 am. to 4:00 p.m. Closed January 1,Thanksgiving Day, and December 25
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/William-Howard-Taft-National-Historic-Site/322872709510
This historic site is located at 2038 Auburn Avenue in the Mount Auburn Historic District, a once-affluent suburb about a mile north of downtown Cincinnati. It is maintained by the National Park Service of the United States and was established in 1969. At the site is the house where President William Howard Taft was born in 1857. he lived in that house for most of his first 25 years. The two-story house was built in the mid 1830s. Taft's father Alonzo Taft moved his family into the home in 1851. The house is believed to have been built by a family named Bowen. Alphonso bought the house with its accompanying 2 acres for $10,000 on June 13, 1851. Mount Auburn was once a popular area to live for upper-class Cincinnatians.
Alphonso's wife Fanny Phelps Taft died a year after the family moved to the Mount Auburn residence, in June 1852. In 1854 Alphonso remarried. His second wife was a schoolteacher from Massachusetts named Louise Torrey. Louise Taft was the mother of William Howard Taft, who was born in the house on September 15, 1857. Alphonso had six children living in the house, two by Fanny (three others had died beforehand) and four by Louise.
William Howard taft lived in the house until he went to Yale University in 1874. In 1878 a fire damaged the second floor and roof. Alphonso and Louise leased the house in 1889, moving to California for health reasons. William had married three years earlier, and the rest of the Taft children had moved out previously as well. In May 1891 Alphonso died in San Diego, California, and was buried in Cincinnati. The tenants of the Auburn house allowed the mourners to gather at the house for the funeral. Louise sold the house in 1899 to Judge Albert C. Thompson and returned to her home town of Millbury, Massachusetts, to live with her sister.
Upon Judge Thompson's death. the house was sold by his widow to Colonel Ernest H. Ruffner in 1912 and on Ruffner's death it was sold by his daughter. The William Howard Taft Memorial Association was formed on July 7, 1937, in hopes of buying the property, but Robert Taft thought it would look too opportunistic to memorialize the house his father grew up in. In the 1940s the building was used as apartments, with the new owner Elbert R. Bellinger once considering selling it to become a funeral parlor for local African-Americans. In 1953, the William Howard Taft Memorial Association acquired the house for $35,000. The house was in poor condition and needed over $90,000 worth of restoration. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The association gained full title to the house in 1968 and in 1969 transferred it to the National Park Service, which currently operates the site as a historic house museum, so that its future upkeep is ensured. The United States government took the property title on November 1, 1970.
Today the site has two main buildings. The first is the original home owned by William Howard Taft's parents, Alphonso and Louise Taft. It has been restored to look as it did during the time William lived there. All the family portraits and many of the books on display belonged to the Taft family. The first floor has five rooms restored: William's birthplace, and four rooms representative of the period. The furniture is period pieces and did not necessarily belong to the Tafts. The second floor contains exhibits on the accomplishments of President Taft. The second building is the National Historic Site's Visitor Center, officially called the Taft Education Center. It has offices, a National Park giftshop, an audio-animatronic exhibit of William's son Charles Phelps Taft II fishing and telling stories about his father and other members of the Taft family, and a short biographical film on William Howard Taft.
Following is more information about the Taft Historic site:
Website: http://www.nps.gov/wiho/index.htm
Location: 2038 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
Hours of Operation: Seven days a week from 8:00 am. to 4:00 p.m. Closed January 1,Thanksgiving Day, and December 25
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/William-Howard-Taft-National-Historic-Site/322872709510