Taft Family House on Auburn Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

HOUSE TOUR INFORMATION

The birth home of William Howard Taft on Auburn Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, is open to visitors on both Ranger-guided and self-guided tours. During the tourist season (mid-February through mid-November) the park is open daily. At this time, tours during the week are given every half hour starting at 9 AM, with the last tour at 4 PM. On weekends, tours are given at 9 AM, 10 AM, 1 PM, and 2 PM. At other times of the day, visitors are welcome to tour the house on their own. The winter schedule is similar, but the house is only open on Thursdays through Sundays. Guided tours are given on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, while the entire Saturday is set aside for self-guided tours. Groups of ten or more people must schedule a tour in advance. Call (513) 684-3262 for information.

Keep in mind that times and days can always change, so before heading to the park, be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s official Touring the Taft Family House web page for William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

HOUSE AND PARK HISTORY

What is now known as the Taft Family House was built by the Bowen Family. The exact date of construction is not known, though historians estimate it to be between 1843 and 1847. Alphonso Taft, William’s father, purchased the house in 1851 and proceeded to add a rear wing that same year.

The original house was square. If looking at the current house from the north side (view from the Taft Education Center parking lot), the original house was the section facing Auburn Avenue (right side). It included the first three windows, two chimneys, and the rougher-brick lower section, with its rear being about where the drainage pipe is located. The rear addition is narrower, creating an L-shaped house, and if you go around to the south side, you can clearly see the shape.

North side of the Taft Family House on Auburn Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

William was born in the house in 1857 and lived there until leaving for Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1874. Alphonso was appointed minister to Austria-Hungary in 1882, and while the family lived in Europe the house was rented out. The Tafts eventually sold the property in 1899.

The house had three owners after the Tafts moved out. The second owner, Ernest Ruffner, died in 1937, and his daughter put the house up for sale. The William Howard Taft Memorial Association (WHTMA), which had been formed a few years earlier, attempted to purchase it but could not come up with the money. The house was instead sold to the next door neighbor, Elbert Bellinger, who turned the building into apartments.

It wasn’t until 1961 that the WHTMA, which was now headed by Charles Taft, William’s son, was able to occupy the building, at the time through a lease agreement with Bellinger. After his death, it was agreed that the WHTMA could purchase the house from his heirs for $35,000. While alive, Bellinger lived in one of the apartments (free of charge and with a monthly stipend) at the rear of the building. He had sold his other property by this time, which was used for the Hamilton County Youth Detention Center.

Restoration of the house under the WHTMA began in 1964 with the front porch and widow’s walk (rooftop platform). Once done, more funding was needed, but the WHTMA had trouble raising the estimated $175,000 for the project. In 1965, Charles began seeking assistance from the Federal government, hoping that the National Park Service would take over and foot the bill for the restoration. It had done so with Herbert Hoover’s home, creating the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Politicians from Ohio took up the cause, and in 1967 a bill was drafted to create the William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

Bellinger died in 1967, and Charles personally fronted the $35,000 to purchase the house in the name of the WHTMA. In the meantime, the National Park Service conducted various studies to determine if the property was worthy of being a National Park. This continued throughout 1968. A new bill to create the park was introduced and approved by Congress and the Senate in 1969.

Despite not being restored, public tours of the house’s interior began in 1972. Funding had been postponed, so the goal of having the house ready in time for the U. S. Bicentennial in 1976 was not going to happen. Charles feared the house would never be restored during his lifetime due to government bureaucracy.

While repairs were made, including emergency stabilization after an earthquake in July 1980 severely damaged the house, any type of substantial gain in the restoration did not begin until 1982, and even then the work moved slowly. It wasn’t until 1988 that the restoration was completed and the house reopened to the public. Charles’s fear came true; he died in 1983. Further restoration work was done in 2018, the first major work since the 1980s.

Rear (east) of the Taft Family House on Auburn Avenue in Cincinnati, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

INSIDE THE TAFT FAMILY HOUSE

There are three rooms decorated with period furniture on the first floor—bedroom, library / sitting room, and parlor—and these rooms are covered on a guided tour. None of the furniture belonged to the Tafts, but the items are antiques from the mid- to late 1800s. The Ranger mainly talks about Taft, so the tour could be held out on the street and it wouldn’t make much difference. Tours of homes with original furniture tend to be more house-oriented, as guides typically point out the significance of particular items. Since nothing is original in the house, that entire topic of conversation cannot exist. As a result, the tour and house are a little underwhelming.

Parlor of the Taft House on Auburn Avenue in Cincinnati, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

The first floor is all the guided tour covers, and it takes roughly 15 minutes. After that, visitors are welcome to walk down to the basement to see the kitchen and dining room on their own. A 20-minute video titled Recollections plays on a loop. The film is an interview with four of Taft’s grandchildren as they talk about their memories of their grandfather when the family gathered at his Quebec, Canada, summer home in Murray Bay.

Dining Room of the Taft Family House, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

The second floor, which is also open to visitors on a self-guided basis, is where a museum dedicated to Taft is located. Whereas the exhibits in the Taft Education Center cover the Taft Family, the exhibits in the house are mainly about Taft, though there are a few about his father and uncles.

Exhibits on the second floor of the Taft Family House, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Most of the exhibits are comprised of information panels filled with reproductions of old photographs, news articles, and political cartoons. There are a few artifacts pertaining to Taft, largely campaign memorabilia and other printed materials such as programs, invitations, and menus from various functions he attended.

Exhibits on the second floor of the Taft Family House, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Larger, physical items on display included Taft’s bible and gifts he was given when president.

Taft’s bible on display in the Taft Family House, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Gifts on display in the Taft Family House that Taft was given when he was president, William Howard Taft National Historic Site

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

On a guided tour, most visitors won’t spend much more than a half hour inside the Taft Family House—15 minutes for the tour and 15 minutes for the exhibits. On your own, you might spend even less time, as the furnished section of the house demands no more time than needed to take a look and perhaps snap a photo. For those really into Taft and who want to read all the information in the exhibit area, that alone will take about 45 to 60 minutes. Factor in the tour and the Recollections film and you could spend up to 1.5 hours inside the house.

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