William Howard Taft National Historic Site

This fascinating museum is a must-see for anyone interested in U.S. or presidential history. The home is furnished mostly with pieces from the era when the Taft family lived there, with only a few original items remaining. The tour of the museum and house takes only about an hour. We arrived just in time for the first tour on a Friday morning and were lucky enough to have the guide all to ourselves. Knowing little—if anything—about our 27th president beforehand, we left with a solid introduction to his life and enough curiosity to continue learning on our own. The entire experience shouldn’t take more than an hour, or perhaps an hour and a half if you like to linger in the museum exhibits. We highly recommend going for the first tour of the day on a weekday if you prefer smaller crowds—it worked perfectly for us.

A fascinating and well-preserved historic site! Admission is free, and you’re welcome to explore the house at your own pace. There’s a great mix of memorabilia and exhibits covering President Taft’s life—from his early years all the way to his time as local Judge to President to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The 30–40 minute guided tour was a highlight—the park ranger was extremely knowledgeable and stayed afterward to answer questions, which made the visit even more engaging. The house itself has been beautifully restored, and its history is just as interesting as the man who once lived there. Highly recommended! There is onsite parking - it’s just hard to see initially. You can park in the small lot in front of the visitor center or the loft behind the Taft Educational Center.

Interesting site! Free entrance and you can explore the house on your own. Lots of memorabilia and exhibits about the former president. You will learn a lot about his life, policies, and how his decisions changed the course of his life and ambitions. Also, the staff are very nice too!

That is so good place. The Museum performs all history of 27 th President of USA, who was borned here.

What a cool museum. We were there on a Friday afternoon. We had a private guided tour from a wonderful National Park Ranger. Very interesting facts about Taft we didn’t know. The building is amazing. Lots of artifacts. Beautiful grounds. Well worth a stop. It was all free too.

Incredibly Interesting, Beautiful, and Well-Curated little museum The house is filled with artifacts from the Taft family, as well as the time period; many of the displays have buttons that play recordings; and there is even an animatronic of Charles Taft, Howard Taft’s youngest son. Well worth a visit.

My knowledge of President Taft was super limited before coming here. Everything was well set up and easy to read. There are some nifty items from his personal life as well. It is free and is definitely worth your time to check it out!

Thanks for a great tour Heidi! There were guided tours of the house every hour, which lasted about 25 minutes, then we were free to tour the rest of the home’s exhibits - which only took about 15 minutes before our kids got tired. We also watched the 20 minute film in the visitor center, looked through the small museum, and completed the junior ranger program. Good visit overall. Free.

A beautiful tribute and tons of information about the 27th POTUS who served 1909-1913 and was the only person to serve not only as POTUS but also Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1921-1930). Among other things, he was responsible for establishing the income tax and splitting the Republican Party such that it let to the election of Woodrow Wilson. The historic site was the birthplace and childhood home of the man. It is a two-story structure built around 1845 and was purchased by Alphonso Taft (William Howard Taft's father) in 1851. The family was upper class and so they used the house for social events. The house is open for touring and includes several rooms set up in period style as it would have been if the Taft family were still living here. Some larger rooms have mementoes and captions explaining the life and times of the former POTUS and SCOTUS Chief Justice. There's a lot to read and take in. Expect at least an hour, probably two. [Review 21136 overall - 236 in Ohio - 99 of 2024.]

On the morning of November 29th, my fiancée and I went to William Howard Taft National Historic Site for our first stop on her birthday weekend. She knows I use to be a history major and US presidents are and is still my passion. I wrote a lot of papers on Taft when I was in college. There were a lot of interesting and fun things I learned about the 27th president of the United States of America that I didn't know about when I wrote papers about him.

I am a self proclaimed presidential history "nerd". I've read a biography on each president in order (currently reading F.D.R.), and my bucket list includes visiting all their birth and burial places. I also make it a point to visit presidential libraries, national historic sites, etc. So, bottom line, I'm tough on these places. Taft site was not as impressive as some of the others I've been to, and that mainly has to do with the lack of original artifacts within the home. Although I was disappointed to learn it is a house filled with mostly period pieces not original to the Taft family, I later learned that was due to a fire in the home. The tour was short and underwhelming. I had more fun on the third floor reading informational boards and seeing things like Taft's cabinet chair and the Bible on which he placed his hand during his inauguration. Ultimately, I'm glad I went, but I was not overly impressed.

William Howard Taft was our 27th president (1909- 1913) and later on (yes after his presidency, which also makes him the first US president to be a judge thereafter and also serve both positions) he became the 10th Chief Justice of the US (1921- 1930). William Taft was born in 1857. His father was a judge, which helped influence him to go into law. He was the Federal circuit judge when he was 34 and had dreams to serve on the supreme court. During former President William McKinley (our 25th president from 1897- 1901), William Taft was appointed by McKinley to serve as chairman of the Second Philippine Commission. He ended up becoming the first civilian governor of the Philippines. Later on, he left the Philippines and became former President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of War (Teddy Roosevelt was our 26th president from 1901- 1909). After he served as president for 1 term, former president William Harding (29th president from 1921- 1923, unfortunately he had passed away during his 3rd term. His vice president, Calvin Coolidge ended up becoming president thereafter) made him Chief Justice in 1921, in which he served until he passed away in 1930. It was believed that his wife, Helen Taft (or Nellie, as that was what she was must commonly called) was the one who pushed her husband to become president. Without her pushing, it is believed that he most likely would have not gone down that path. She ended up passing away in 1943. William Howard Taft National Historic Site is where you can visit William Taft's home and small visitor center to read about some brief information about him and also watch a video that briefly covered his life. Visiting here is free, along with a docent lead tour. There is also a small parking lot available for free parking. Our tour guide was friendly and he was informative as he lead our group throughout the bottom floor of the home (the second floor and basement area is self guided with boards to read to learn more information). We had 4 young children on our tour (which made me laugh throughout with their comments, lol. Children truly are hilarious and are so transparent with their thoughts and feelings) that loved blurting out what they see in excitement, cutting off our tour guide while he talked, etc. But that didn't bother him and he was very patient to answer each of their questions. The tour itself was not very long, I think it only lasted about 20 minutes but you may ended up spending another 15- 20 minutes on the self guided portion of the home. And then another 20- 30 minutes in the visitor center (you definitely want to make sure you do watch the video). One thing that I thought was interesting that was not covered in the guided tour or on any of the boards that I read was about where William Taft was buried. I learned through my own research that he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia (very close to Washington DC). Now in order to be buried at this cemetery, you had to have been a veteran. Because he had served as Secretary of War, this was able to give him ability to be buried here. He ended up becoming the first president to be buried here (and then JFK was the second, in which he did serve during WWII). I wished Arlington Cemetery had mentioned that on the shuttle tour that you take but that tour in general is pretty poor and you can't understand the driver over the intercom used). When his wife passed away, Helen Taft ended up becoming the first, first lady to also be buried at Arlington Cemetery (and then Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was buried many years later). Overall, I enjoyed my visit and was surprised that this is the first presidential home that I have been to in which it is free to visit (I have gone to many presidential homes/ museums and they all charge an admission price).

When I arrived at a small parking lot that's easy to miss, the visitor center was closed (for a staff lunch break, apparently), I headed up to the house, which was open. Multiple floors of fairly extensive exhibits abound, and there is a lot of fairly detailed information about a president mostly known for his physical appearance and who I would not have associated with Cincinnati. But this is an interesting and important person (also Chief Justice of the Supreme Court) whose historical significance is certainly worth taking some time to ponder. This is a free NPS site. It may be that the visitor center offers some more and there seem to be guided tours at some point, but it still wasn't open when I left (despite the ranger at the house saying it would be by then). Regardless, it is a site worthy of preservation and a stop worth making, even if briefly.

William Howard Taft is the only president who later became a Supreme Court justice. This free tour of his home gives us a glimpse of his and his family's lives and accomplishments in the history of the United States and his native state of Ohio. As the 27th president he really doesn't get much attention and love for his achievements but you will be surprised by his contributions to our country. There is a free parking lot just past the house. Don't listen to your GPS that says the parking lot is on your right before passing the house. That's a hospital parking lot. The National Historic Site lot is past the house on the right. Oh, guided tours are on the hour or you can just take the self guided tour as I did.

We weaved up the hill to the Taft House a Greek Revival on Auburn Ave. We saw a :14 film about Taft & went on a self guided tour of his childhood house. I didn't realize after his presidency he became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. We walked through the front hall, parlor, library, piazza, dining room, parents & grandparents bedroom & nursery of the 6,000 square foot home. The rooms were filled with lots of artifacts and posters with information about Taft's life. We spent about an hour here and our visit was free. We parked in the free parking lot as well.

What a pleasant surprise the William Howard Taft National Historic Site turned out to be! It's free, first of all, and it's part of the national park system. So, if you happen to be a junior ranger or know one, you can get a stamp in your National Park Passport at the visitors' center. It's a very well-kept historic home and has quite a bit of information about Taft and his family. I had no idea that Ohio played such an important role in US politics, particularly between the Civil War and 1900. Though Taft seems to have had a tough presidency, his life was interesting and he started many of the Presidential firsts we all sort of take for granted. For instance, he was the first president to kick of baseball season by throwing the first pitch. I definitely recommend visiting this Mt. Auburn home and historic site if you are at all interested in history, and more specifically, Cincinnati's contribution to presidential history.

The staff here is incredible - friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful! The site consists of Taft's historic home and a neighboring education center. There is a small parking lot, and both parking and entry is free. We headed into the education center when we first arrived to get an overview, and the wonderful ranger got us situated - there is a short video available in the education center that the rangers can start on demand. The site offers two Junior Ranger programs, including the William Howard Taft House one and the new Junior Justice. Fun fact that the ranger told us when we were getting the kids set up with theirs - there is no age limit on the Junior Ranger materials, so anyone can request one. We took a short guided tour through the house, which was very informative and the Junior Ranger booklet on the house helped keep the kids engaged - the ranger flagged each room to pay close attention to and the books had some interactive options. Additional displays were offered on the top and bottom floors (3 story house - the tour took us through the first floor) to peruse. Additional information was available in the education center, including an interactive "talking" display. There is also a small gift shop. If you're collecting stamps for your National Parks Passport, they are set up right next to the desk in the visitors center. Great place to visit!

Taft was quite the interesting US President and this national historic site reflects this. Taft as a great diplomat, avid financial planner and was the first President to throw a first pitch in an MLB game The docent led tour is fantastic. Our guy Dennis was a walking encyclopedia of Taft memorabilia and events during Taft's presidency. We spent a few minutes with the Taft "actor / impersonator" in the new modern visitors center. Well done!!

Wow! What a cool place. I know it's not Yosemite or Acadia but what an interesting place. I learned so much about Taft and what Cincinnati looked like back in his day. The Visitors Center is right next to the actual historical site which is convenient. They had bathrooms and the lobby open which was nice along with self guided brochures for touring the house. Definitely go view the house even if it's a quick walk through, it's worth it. My favorite fact that I learned is that the Cherry Trees in DC that are world-famous for their gorgeous Spring time blooms were actually a gift to Taft from the Mayor of Japan for the 25th wedding anniversary of Taft and his wife. How cool is that?! Don't skip this Cinci hidden gem!

I have lived a couple miles from this little gem of a museum and have never been. My husband used to spend his lunch hour here when he worked downtown. Today we took our daughter and there is so much to take in. It's has sculptures and vases from China and paintings from France Italy Spain Netherlands England Scotland and the US. There is also an exhibit currently of temporary French posters from 1800s. The grounds are beautiful and they have a lovely little cafe which we did not enjoy today but have included pics of their menu. The weather was a bit funny as was our daughters attitude so we didn't get a chance to walk across the street to the little playground but we know it's there.. Also, on Sundays the museum is free--- though there is a donation jar you will want to donate as there is much to see and enjoy. At different times employees/volunteer would come and point out different pieces and something magical or interesting about them. We were there about 90 minutes and if we had been without a kiddo we probably would have stayed another 30 minutes. Very enjoyable

This is a hidden gem right in the heart of Cincinnati. It is actually a National Park, so they do have rangers positioned at this museum. They are full of information and even take you through the house with some narration about the historical site. Within the information building, they have several informational pieces to read, as well as about a 30 minute video to watch that explains the life of William Howard Taft and his accomplishments within the United States. Since he was born here in Cincinnati, it was very interesting to learn more about his life and his beginnings. They have nice restrooms within this facility, as well as some books and historical paraphernalia in a small gift shop. You can even purchase a pass to the national parks or renew your membership at this location. Next door to the informational building is Taft's childhood home. You can go into the ballroom, the sitting room, and even see his nursery. The other rooms have been converted as memorial spaces to house information. It's a great spot to visit in Cincinnati -- especially if you are a local and love history!

The property is nice but they weren't friendly at all... In fact both rangers seemed put off to have people there- Visitors center was closed as it seems to be on all these reviews- Nice place.. But the staff and tour wasn't very memorable...

Informative national park site. Park video is worth investment of time as it gIves a very good overview of Taft's life. Rest of visitor's center museum is pretty limited. House tour is short and focused mostly on Taft's childhood. Rangers are enthusiastic and great with kids. Well done junior ranger program. Overall, I learned a lot but I am not sure their was much I took away that was really enhanced by visiting the site. Definitely worth stopping by but not a destination.

We were out being tourists. I was quite impressed with the amount of information we learned about President Taft. My son is working on his Citizenship in the Nation merit badge and what a great place to do some of the research. We learned about our 27th President.

Okay, so the house isn't exactly original (part of it burned down, it was later turned into an apartment building, and almost none of the furniture is original). But we were visiting Cincinnati for a weekend (our first visit to Ohio) - and we knew we had to visit the childhood home of one of our presidents! (Did you know that 8 U.S. presidents were from Ohio?! I didn't, and it's a crazy fact!) And it's an interesting stop. You'll learn a little about Taft (our 27th President) - and not just the story about the bathtub (which wasn't mentioned during our visit. (Did you know that he was a Supreme Court Justice after he was President? Or that his wife Nellie was boss? (She was the first First Lady to publish her memoirs, own and drive a car, support women's suffrage, smoke cigarettes, lobby for safety standards in federal workplaces, etc.) Stop by if you're around. It's interesting and it's free (thank you, National Parks Service)!

This site is fine -- not a must-see stop if you have limited time in Cincinnati -- but if you're a Taft fan or a history buff, it is worth a quick trip. We spent about 45 minutes visiting, which included 15 minutes in the visitor center watching a film on Taft's life and then a 30-minute tour of the house. The film covered his whole life vs. the house tour was focused (understandably) on his childhood (and his siblings, his parents' backgrounds, etc). I was more interested in his later political life, as he is the only person to have served as both president and chief justice of SCOTUS -- a very accomplished man. Free parking, though the lot is very small. They have a NPS passport stamping station! The visitor center does have a few items for sale, but it's not large compared to other NPS sites.

I drove by the William Howard Taft National Historic site two times a week for 2.5 year and I made a promise to myself that I would stop in to visit after I finished graduate school. When I finally made the time in my schedule to visit, I was not disappointed. The William Howard Taft historic site consists of the main house in addition to a visitor's center. Take the time to watch the ~20 minute video on Taft in the visitors center. I was vastly uneducated on all the influential endeavors Taft participated in during his presidency and life career. I went on a private tour of the Taft family house. The main floor of the house has been renovated with period furnishings while other floors have community rooms and other historical displays. You can easily complete a visit to the house, visitor center and walk the grounds in under 2 hours. Take it from me.... carve time out of your busy schedule to visit the FREE Cincinnati treasure.

William Howard Taft National Historic Site is Presidents Taft's former home preserved by the National Park Service right in the middle of Cincinnati. There is a visitor center and the actual house that Taft lived in. The visitor center is nice and clean and well organized. There is an excellent film that discusses the life of President Taft. I didn't know he had accomplished so much in his life until I visited this site. Visiting the house is by tour only. Luckily everything was free. Sadly, I was the only person visiting the house. I enjoyed the one-on-one tour but I wish I more people would take advantage of the National Park Service and the history of the United States. Did I mention that it was all free?

I'd been to the William Howard Taft National Historic Site a number of years ago and had been wanting to go back. This time, I went with my parents who had never been on a tour despite being life-long Cincinnati residents. They both enjoyed the visit. First of all, I think it is really cool that Cincinnati has it's own National Historic Site, which is part of the National Park Service...meaning the site is staffed by a National Park Ranger. Pus, this is the only museum commemorating the life of William Howard Taft, who is the only man to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. You start your visit in the Taft Education Center, where a short film orients you to the life of William Howard Taft. There are displays with photos about Taft and his family. There is also an animatronic display of Taft's youngest son and past Cincinnati mayor, Charles Phelps Taft II. The education center also includes a small gift shop. A guide will then lead you over to the house for a tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and was able to answer all the questions we threw at him. It took the National Park Service 18 years to restore the home, decorating and furnishing it with period accurate items. There are a few items in the house that did actually belong to the Taft family. The ground floor is not restored, but is where the kitchen was located. The first floor is furnished and the top floor is the museum portion of the house with historical displays and memorabilia, along with another film which includes interviews with Taft family members and friends. We went on a Tuesday morning and there was a couple there before us and a few people after us, so it is not at all crowded. Although, the guide did say he had a group of children the week before, so you might occasionally run into school groups during the school year. The entire complex is wheelchair accessible, as they have an elevator in the house. There is a small lot with free parking located in front of the education center. Admission to the visitor center and house are FREE!

The Taft site is a relatively small national historic site in terms of size but it's well worth a visit if you're in Cincinnati and enjoy Presidential history. Our tour guide was great giving us an overview of the site and it/Taft's history but also of the national historic site system in general. The house itself is great, filled with a lot of original pieces.

This is not in the same league as presidential libraries, but is worthy of a side trip for all american history buffs. Tafts family legacy and the importance of his place in history deserve a larger museum, not just his childhood home filled with replicas of the era. Much room for improvement.

Plan to spend 1 to 1.5 hours.  Parking is difficult.  It's more of a museum than house since only 2 rooms are reproduction of rooms.  The rest are museum/info rooms but it's a good mixture Make sure you get a ranger led tour, it's short but informative!

Great exhibit was made even better by our tour guide, Jason. He had a number of interesting facts to provide to us and just an engaging personality. He really kept the tour moving along while not feeling rushed. The movie before did a great job setting the stage for the tour of his childhood home.

My mom and I went to the Taft House a few weekends ago and had the best time! We were lucky and had the tour guide all to ourselves! He was a history major and it was evident he loved what he was doing and was excellent at it! He graciously answered all the questions my mother and I peppered him with! The house is lovely and although it is on the smaller side the tour guide painted us a very rich and colorful history of the house and the Taft family. We loved it!

A lovely, straightforward historical tour of four rooms of the Taft home. Also a spacious visitor center with a good display explaining the Taft family's roll in the region. We can thank Taft for the tradition of throwing out the first pitch and for bringing the Supreme Court into its modern way of functioning.

I've been fond of WHT ever since I gave a report on him in the 4th grade, where I tossed on my dad's old suit, stuffed it with pillows and delivered my findings from a cardboard box made to look like a bathtub. (I also drew on a mustache.) Anyway, having lived in Cincy for most of my life, I didn't even think of looking up anything about WHT in town. Then the other day I was driving from Clifton to OTR when the house caught my eye! My grandparents came in town this past weekend and my mom planned the perfect family excursion. Bonus: There's onsite parking- no meters! Being that this is a national historic site, it's managed by park rangers and US National Park Service (imagine my Parks & Rec. nerdy freakout). While the museum section of the site is small, it's informative and there's about a 15 minute video on WHT. As a bit of a history nerd, I found it to be informative- I had no idea that his father, Alphonso, was involved in Cincy politics or was Attorney General and Secretary of War. In the lobby area there was complimentary punch, candy canes, cookies and apple cider. While we were finishing up our snacks and drinks one of the park rangers gave us all Christmas presents- and they were wrapped. (And once again I had a freak out, because you know Leslie Knope would do the same!!) We received books, a coffee mug, ornaments, trivia games. It was seriously the best. After much rejoicing, we headed to the WHT House for a guided tour. Our ranger was knowledgeable (I didn't grab their names- I wish I had!) and gave us all kinds of details about the house, the family, and the process of setting up the house and getting it to look period-appropriate. Upstairs the rooms are set up to be self-guided, complete with all kinds of details. We forgot to head downstairs and check out the display there, so obviously we are heading back at some point! Seriously, 5-stars because the rangers are great, the tour is interesting and full of information! I kind of want to become a regular and be pals with the rangers.

The Taft Historic Site includes both his birthplace and boyhood home as well as an educational center. We walked there from downtown Cincy, which was quite a distance and included a pretty decent-sized hill but was worth it due to some very neat architecture and views of the city. We started at the educational center and saw a video on Taft's time as President and Chief Justice. It was a really informative movie that was useful for the rest of the time there. The remainder of the education center seems more geared toward Taft's descendents, but they are all such a part of Cincinnati and Ohio history that it's completely understandable - and didn't seem to take too much away from the experience. After finishing there, we moved to the boyhood home. It seemed to be a nice house for the time period, and the main floor has several fixtures true to the house and several that represent what would have been there. The house is fully restored and was once used as the educational center, so at times it was hart to remember that it is actually an old house (the carpeting and woodwork are all very new). The third floor is full of exhibits which do focus on Taft, so that was very interesting as well. There weren't many people visiting this historic site when we were there, so I hope that's not representative of all times. It really was a good place to go, and it was definitely worth the price of admission (FREE).

Time well spent in the heart of Cincinnati! The Park Rangers are incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. Exhibits are informative and laid out well. We walked away knowing much more about President Taft's life and background. Only challenge is the parking, nevertheless, that is to be expected in any major metropolis. All in all, this was a wonderful experience. We will be back! #FindYourPark #EncuentraTuParque

Pretty interesting place to check out if you have some spare time on your hands and the best part about it its FREE!

What a great little historical gem in Cincinnati. The guide was very knowledgeable and you could tell he enjoyed history. The house itself is interesting plus there are a number of artifacts displayed as well.

What a gem. A beautiful and historic spot. Outstanding collection. And Chris Payton made our visit so special - magical even! We will be back

This was an okay way to kill about an hour and change. There's not a ton to see here. The tour is fairly quick. Then you can self tour the other rooms and see some Taft artifacts. Being that he was a President and a Supreme Court Justice, he is an interesting person. It's worth the hour plus to make your way through here.

What a great place! The house tour is a nice mix of a vintage mansion, folklore from a ranger and displays that help you understand not only President Taft but also the philosophy of service to our country. Take the time to read and absorb the displays in both the mansion and the museum.

Taft holds dual distinctions as both the fattest president in US history, and the last one to sport facial hair. The all-you-can-eat buffet at the museum is perhaps the best in all of presidential librarydom. You can buy commemorative fake handle bar mustaches in the gift shop. Like the Taft presidency, this museum is a one-and-done visit.

I truly enjoyed my visit to the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. It is set up to be fun and educational for children and adults. My friend and I had a personal tour of the house and it was stellar! The amount of history and knowledge presented was outstanding.

The birthplace and boyhood home of President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Taft is located up on Mount Auburn just outside of downtown Cincinnati, across from a children's hospital. The home came into the hands of the National Park Service in 1964, and has been restored to its appearance when Taft was raised there, but unfortunately there are very few original pieces available for display as the home passed out of the Taft family in the late 19th century. The rooms are filled instead with replicas, reproductions and original period pieces. The upstairs rooms are essentially a Taft museum of sort, navigating one through the life of this quite remarkable American. The original grounds have long been claimed by development, and the adjacent visitor center is small and unworthy given the breadth and depth of public service of this man and his remarkable family. Let's hope that future investments improve this priceless American treasure in ways more befitting the scale of Taft. Pardon the pun.