by Woo-hoo, we checked another Presidential site off Doug’s list with a visit to the William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Cincinnati, Ohio!
Though the site is named after our 27th president (and 10th chief justice), it was actually the home of his father, Alphonso.
Alphonso was a lawyer with his own notable career, including serving as both Secretary of War and United States Attorney General.
The Greek Revival home was built circa 1845, and purchased by Alphonso for $10,100 in 1851 (about $400,000 today). Alphonso doubled the size of the home to 6,000 square feet to accommodate his growing family (five children with his first wife, plus five more with his second wife, though only six children survived infancy).
William was born in the home in 1857, and lived there until he went off to Yale University in 1874. The Taft family remained in the home until 1889, when they moved to California in search of a better climate.
By this point all of the sons had moved out, including William, who had married in 1886. The home was initially rented out to tenants, then sold in 1899.
Subsequent owners made many modifications to the home, and eventually it was turned into apartments. By the time it was acquired by the William Howard Taft Memorial Association, the home was in poor condition and in need of signification restoration. It was then restored to the time period when William lived there.
All of the family portraits and many of the books on display today belonged to the Taft family, but the furniture is primarily made up of period pieces not owned by the Tafts.
