William Howard Taft

https://www.nps.gov/wiho/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft_National_Historic_Site William Howard Taft National Historic Site at 2038 Auburn Avenue in the Mount Auburn Historic District of Cincinnati, Ohio, a mile (1.6 km) north of Downtown. It was the birthplace and childhood home of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States and the 10th Chief Justice of the United States. The two-story Greek Revival house, built circa 1835, is a reminder of the elegant era when wealthier people here could escape the dirt, heat, smoke and crowded conditions of the lower city. High atop one of Cincinnati's most prominent hilltops stands the two-story Greek Revival house where William Howard Taft was born and grew up. Hard work, a good education, and an interest in civic duty are attributes that made the Taft family outstanding leaders over the years. The environment that shaped Taft's character and philosophy is highlighted on a visit to the site. From I-71 north; Take Exit 2 (Reading Road and Eden Park Drive). Stay in right lane; turn left at first stoplight onto Dorchester Avenue, and go to the top of the hill. Turn right on Auburn Avenue and go 1 ½ blocks to the site. Park will be on the right. From I-71S, take Exit 3 (Taft Road). Follow Taft Road westbound. Go 0.75 mile to Auburn Avenue. Turn left and go 0.5 mile to the site. Park will be on the left. Taft Education Center The Taft Education Center is the park's main visitor center. It is the first building visitors should enter upon arriving to the park. Restrooms are located inside the building along with a water fountain. Visitors will be able to view the park film, arrange for a tour of the Taft home and purchase small items in the park's bookstore. Additionally, special exhibits are available for viewing during various times of the year. Visit the park's website for detailed directions to the site. No Camping No campgrounds available in park. The Taft Family Home in Summer A yellow two-story brick building with tall windows and green shutters on them The Taft Family Home showing the lower-level entrance on the side and the main entrance on the front Taft Education Center A tan and brick sided building with a corner entrance featuring tall glass windows and doors. The main entrance lobby to the Taft Education Center. Taft Home and Taft Education Center A yellow building to the right with a red brick sidewalk leading to a tan and red building The walkway leading to and from the Taft Education Center and Taft Home. Bookstore Area A lobby area with red and white square tiles and two people standing at a counter with a ranger. The main entrance lobby to the Taft Education Center greets visitors when they arrive. Charlie Taft Display A sitting model of an older man in a vest, shirt and pants next to a replica of a car & canoe on top The Charlie Taft animatronic display inside of the Taft Education Center. Shadowboxes Several small and medium-sized glass-covered boxes with different displays inside of them on a wall The shadowbox display of the Taft Legacy inside of the Taft Education Center. Bookstore Area Several books and gift items arranged in rows on slotted walls The small bookstore inside the Taft Education Center offers visitors a chance to purchase souvenirs while at the park Taft Education Center interpretive displays Tall display columns arranged in rows inside of a large room with photos and text on them. The main interpretive display area inside of the Taft Education Center. Taft home display A room inside of a house showing two portraits of men and a fireplace on a wall between two windows. One of the rooms inside of the Taft home with portrait displays of William Howard Taft and Alphonso Taft. Interpretive Exhibits inside of the Taft home A large room with individual columns of artifacts and display items in the center and wall displays A room in the Taft home with exhibits focusing on Taft's tenure as President. Swearing in bible A large open book on display in a glass-enclosed case. The bible that was used for Taft's Presidential swearing in ceremony in 1909 and again in 1921 as Supreme Court Chief Justice. Taft's crib A dark wooden baby crib with wooden spindles sits inside of a bedroom. The crib used by William Howard Taft when he was a baby. Inclined to Move Traversing the hilly neighborhoods in modern cities in the 19th century was made easier with the advent of a new spin on railway technology. Elevated and inclined railways ushered in a modern convenience that was a hit in American cities like Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Cincinnati. Two trolleys on an elevated inclined railway with a building on the right Buckeyes Bound for the Orient In 1905, several notable Ohio political figures, including Secretary of War William Howard Taft, set off on a three-month journey to the far east. This little-known and even lesser-remembered journey was documented extensively by photographers Burr McIntosh and Harry Fowler Woods. Many people on the deck of a cruise ship posing for a photo Like Father, Like Son When it comes to his political career, William Howard Taft is a "chip off the old block." The younger Taft went on to achieve many of the same accomplishments of his father and then exceeded his father by garnering the top posts in the political and legal professions. Father and son Taft in sitting portraits William Howard Taft National Historic Site and the Public Weal Read the story of how William Howard Taft National Historic Site was established and the controversy that surrounded its development and the development of the west end of Cincinnati, championed by the youngest son of William Howard Taft, Charles P. Taft II. A large two-story home with several children out in the front lawn with wrought iron and stone fence William Howard Taft National Historic Site's Very Unusual Visitor On a special weekend in 2013, a very unusual visitor made an appearance from his overseas home. One would say, he came home, but in this case, the wax statue of William Howard Taft made a special appearance from across the pond. All the way from its true home at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London, England. A wax statue of Taft in a three-piece suit stands next to a lady speaking to sitting children. The NPS in Ohio Learn about and explore the National Park Service sites in Ohio. The Buckeye State has eight NPS sites and additional sites that are bound to intrigue and amaze. But before you click on Ohio's NPS site links, be sure to decipher a special message that young William left for you. Junior ranger logo with man's portrait in center and outline of Ohio map with NPS logo on top William Howard Taft NHS Pathfinder William Howard Taft's public service career was filled with epic high and achievements. It took him thousands of miles away from Ohio and eventually concluded when he achieved his lifelong dream of being on the U.S. Supreme Court. Enjoy this quick and fun pathfinder activity that mimics his journey through his amazing career. Photo of a large yellow house with green shutters and the Jr. Ranger logo National Park Getaway: William Howard Taft National Historic Site Discover a hidden gem in Cincinnati, where the nation's 27th president was born. In the city's first suburb, Mount Auburn, you'll find fabulous architecture, intriguing history, and sites that chronicle the life of a president. a carriage pulled by a horse in front of a large two story home Robert Todd Lincoln and Presidential Assassinations Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President and First Lady Lincoln, had the misfortune to be at the site of three Presidents of the United States. Read about occassion and how Robert Todd Lincoln was connected. a young man in his early twenties posing for a picture wearing a suit jacket On Presidential Births and Deaths There are many connections between the Presidents. This article will explore some of those connections. the United States Presidential Seal From Rhetoric to Railroad to Radio: Ohio’s Presidential Campaigns There were eight presidents from the state of Ohio . Read this article to learn more about each of those presidential campaigns. picture showing the Garfield Home as visitors in carriages arrive in front of the home Things to Do in Ohio Find things to do, trip ideas, and more in Ohio. Steam fog lifts up from grass-covered mounds surrounded by trees. Series: Things to Do in the Midwest There is something for everyone in the Midwest. See what makes the Great Plains great. Dip your toes in the continent's inland seas. Learn about Native American heritage and history. Paddle miles of scenic rivers and waterways. Explore the homes of former presidents. From the Civil War to Civil Rights, discover the stories that shape our journey as a nation. Steep bluff with pink sky above and yellow leaves below. Robin White Robin White experienced profound loss and the injustices of discrimination as a child. Surrounded by women, she grew up understanding the importance of nature, family, cultural heritage, and her own worth. During more than 40 years in the National Park Service (NPS) White valued community engagement and diversity, first as an interpretative ranger and later as a superintendent. Robin White in her NPS uniform and ranger flat hat stands in front of a brown sign.

William Howard Taft National Historic Site Cincinnati, Ohio From the time of his birth in 1857 until he embarked on a political career that would win him the two highest offices in the nation, William Howard Taft lived here, surrounded by family and breathing in what his mother called "inspiration to everything that was good." White House Historical In 1902 Louise Taft reminded her son, then Governor of the Philippines, of his late father's role in his career: "You owe so much to his influence that you might be thought a striking exemplification of the influence of heredity, and the environment which surrounded you in living in the same atmosphere, and breathing the same air—an inspiration to everything that was good." Louise and Alphonso Taft raised their six children in the family tradition of hard work, fair play, and public service. They lived these principles themselves. Steeped in lofty ideals, dutiful Will Taft set a course that took him from his Cincinnati home to the nation's highest ranks. children, including William on September 15,1857. He was "well and hearty & a most charming baby as you would wish to see," she wrote her mother of the five-month-old. "Willie laughs & plays constantly." To his hired nurse he was "the beautifullest boy" she had ever seen. As a child he was outgoing and good-natured, traits he carried into adulthood. Encouraged by his parents, Will earned high marks throughout his school years. "All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy," his father might threaten, but Will escaped his books to play baseball, ride the family's pet pony, sled down Sycamore Hill in winter, wrestle, or tear through the house with his younger brothers. Cincinnati was a busy river port—the Queen City of the Ohio Valley—when Alphonso Taft arrived from Vermont in 1838. Business was Wkt\\\\\m\\\tm\\ jj/AW^n ^UX^9/UJMt^^ good for the ambitious young attorney, who built a practice and made his place in town society. Soon he could afford to escape the crowding, summer heat, and coal dust of the lower city. In 1851 he moved with his wife, "I am more and more impressed with the the former Fanny Phelps of his Vermont responsibility of training children properly," hometown, young children, and parents to a Louise wrote her mother in 1860. "It is what 10-year-old house and two acres a mile or so we are, not what we do in reference to them, out of town in Mount Auburn. Their fashionwhich will make its impression on their lives." able suburban neighborhood, according to in selling an example, me parents couio noi Grandpa Taft, was "a beautiful high, airy have been more diligent. The Taft house place." The two-story brick house was of was a whirl of activity. Their roomy parlor popular Greek Revival design—square, symmight be the setting for a Christmas singmetrical, with decorative trim and a small along, a game of whist, or a discussion of porch. The backyard fell toward the river far anti-slavery legislation and women's suffrage below. Alphonso's first order of business with visiting celebrities. Civil War hero and was to modernize the plumbing and put up a future president James Garfield once aclarge addition in the rear to accommodate companied friends to dinner at the Tafts'. his growing family. Rugs rolled up and furniture pushed aside, the parlor was a makeshift dance hall. Louise surprised Will on his 21st birthday with a gathering of friends for lively music and ice cream. Quiet evenings were spent in the sudden turn of the road brings library; Alphonso finished up the day's business, Louise usually had sewing to do, and you to the top and you find the children read or brooded over the chess table. Book collector Alphonso was a foundyourself surrounded with fine ing member of the city's literary society. residences so shut out from the Family discussions and letters were full of sight of the city that it seems like references to Dickens, Darwin, and other bestsellers of the day. Alphonso also maina village by itself. " tained an "observatory"—a telescope set up in the widow's walk—and was known to Louise Taft to sister Susan, 1854 wake his family for late-night sightings of astronomical marvels. After Fanny died in 1852, Alphonso married Massachusetts schoolteacher Louise Torrey. An affectionate stepmother to Alphonso's There was scarcely a civic or cultural organitwo sons, Louise gave birth to four healthy zation in town that could not claim the par- Association ticipation of one or more Tafts. Alphonso's tireless work for the Republican Party paid off in political appointments which, while they bought him increasing social prominence, led to his departure from Cincinnati. In 1865 he gave up a well-paying law practice for a city judgeship. President Ulysses S. Grant summoned Taft to Washington, first as his Secretary of War then as Attorney General. In the 1880s Taft served as minister to Austria-Hungary and later Russia. Much to Louise's delight, the couple lived abroad for four years and indul