William Howard Taft Administrative History

CHAPTER 6: THE LAND AND SETTING FOR THE TAFT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE (continued)

The first report, "William Howard Taft National Historic Site: Historic Grounds Report," was completed in October 1971. It traced through historical documents, Taft family correspondence, and knowledgeable individuals the historic features and activities associated with the grounds of the Taft property. McCollough's report recounted the general appearance of the Mt. Auburn neighborhood at the time of Taft's residency, the rear addition to the house undertaken by Alphonso Taft, and the location of cisterns, wells, outbuildings, utility mains, gardens, orchards, and carriage way. McCollough also investigated the use of the land to the east of the National Park Service property lines, which had once been attached to the house. [12]

The following year, in June 1972, McCollough produced "William Howard Taft National Historic Site: Archeological Investigations of Grounds." This report covered a surface survey of the historic rear portion of the Taft property. This area had been sold by Bellinger to Hamilton County for construction of the Detention Center. Because it had been filled, graded, macadamized, or built over, virtually all historic features and structures had been obliterated or covered over. As the intruding Detention Center wing and parking lot were not likely to be removed, McCollough suggested that the eastern boundary of the National Park Service property be screened with a high fence or floral screen.

McCollough observed that the only historic features worthy of excavation were two cisterns located within the ground floor of the 1851 rear extension. In addition, McCollough investigated the south porch area, the iron fence along the south property line, a privy walk, an exterior cistern, and "buried historic humus." Finally, a series of test trenches were dug in a section behind the house in order to establish the area's historic contours and to determine if any structures or features stood in that area, and their location. [13]

Additional archeological investigations were conducted by the Denver Service Center staff in tandem with the architectural analyses of the 1970s. In 1975, staff archeologist Deborah K. Bauxar undertook several test excavations along the walls of the 1851 addition to determine the condition of the foundation. Bauxar located the well and cisterns that had been previously studied by McCollough. She also measured the depths of the foundation on all sides of the addition and determined that variation in depth and width was due to a desire to protect the well and cisterns. The cisterns were built prior to the addition by a matter of days. Bauxar's report concluded that the cisterns would need to be demolished to provide for a sturdy foundation to support the south wall. However, time should be allotted to permit a thorough archeological investigation of the cisterns. [14]

In the following year, the Denver Service Center contracted with Southside Historical Sites, Inc. of Williamsburg, Virginia, to identify and analyze the 492 artifacts recovered by Bauxar beneath the concrete sidewalk and two brick walks along the east and south walls of the 1851 addition. Prepared by Jan H. House of the firm, the report covered the major types of artifacts, including glass and metal fragments, none of which dated from the period 1851 to 1877. House surmised that the artifacts dated from occupants of the house after 1877 and most were categorized as hardware and building materials. Few conclusions could be drawn from the artifacts "due to the scattered nature of excavation and the lack of adequate field records." In addition, the McCollough excavations disturbed the original provenance of some of the artifacts. [15]

In 1982, in response to the construction program to stabilize the rear addition of the Taft house, the Midwest Archeological Center at Lincoln, Nebraska, dispatched Archeologist Leslie Perry to conduct excavations of the front yard, the north yard, the ground around the foundations of the east wing, and the carriage drive. Two weeks of fieldwork at the site resulted in the collection of over 3,000 artifacts, which included more than 2,000 structural materials. In addition, domestic, subsistence, personal, and miscellaneous materials were also recovered.

When Architect Renzo Riddo of the Denver Service Center removed matrix from the cellar, he noticed additional artifacts. A few weeks later, another archeologist from the Midwest Archeological Center, Jeffrey Richner, visited the site to collect artifacts from the cellar. Whereas the exterior excavation related to the structural makeup of the house, Richner's fieldwork yielded artifacts related to the domestic life of the house. Several thousand artifacts were recovered, some of which belonged to the Taft family. The Taft artifacts included a silver fork bearing the initials of L.M.T., presumably Louise Taft, mother of William Howard Taft, as well as fragments of china and bottles and toys.

The nature of the Taft era artifacts confirmed the affluence of the family. However, their location revealed a surprising pattern of disposal of household refuse, including food remains. Many animal bones and an assortment of household debris were purposefully discarded within the basement. This pattern of refuse disposal was not expected, given the affluence of the Taft family.

In the interest of providing visitor access and accommodations for the Taft National Historic Site, various planning documents looked beyond the half-acre of land attached to the Taft home. The 1968 study of alternatives suggested using the land attached to the Detention Center for visitor parking and a common National Park Service-County entrance drive. It also considered the Cross property and a portion of the parking lot attached to the Sanning apartment house as a means to provide visitor parking. By the time the 1970 master plan was written, the Taft home site and Cross property were considered a unit. The report stated the expectation that Hamilton County would donate an easement permitting National Park Service use of a narrow strip of property to the south for a landscaped buffer between the Taft home and the west wing of the Detention Center.

As the master plan revision proceeded after 1974, it became evident that the Cross property land was insufficient for visitor parking. Development of the property required additional land to screen the house and accommodate visitors. Several parcels of land on the block bounded by Auburn Avenue on the west, Southern Avenue on the north, Young Street on the east, and Bodmann Avenue on the south emerged as possible additions to the site. The first of these was tract 01-103, the 16' by 220' strip along the southern border of the Taft home site owned by Hamilton County. Another parcel was the 0.30 acre parking lot, tract 01-104, attached to the Sanning apartment house which provided access to the Taft site from Southern Avenue. The apartment house and parking lot were owned by the Mt. Auburn Good Housing Foundation. The third parcel of land consisted of 0.79 acre of land, tract 01-105, at the southwest corner of Southern and Young. It was acquired by Hamilton County in 1973. Finally, the planning team looked at the possibility that the 1.06-acre stretch of land, tract 01-106, which represented much of the original land attached to the house during William Howard Taft's occupancy, might someday be conveyed to the National Park Service by Hamilton County.

Because of existing uses and various owners, the acquisition of some parcels was easier than others. Superintendent Licari, an active member of the master plan team, began negotiations with the owners of the four parcels of land to determine the feasibility of National Park Service acquisition. In January 1977, the Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County adopted three resolutions. The first resolution stated that the 16' by 220' strip of land, subject to a perpetual easement from the County since December 24, 1969, would be conveyed to the National Park Service if the County Prosecuting Attorney determined that it was legally possible to do so. The second resolution pertained to tract 01-105 at the corner of Southern and Young Streets. The Board of County Commissioners referred to the draft master plan for the Taft National Historic Site and expressed its willingness to negotiate the transfer of the property to the National Park Service. On the matter of tract 01-106, the Board stated its willingness to give the National Park Service the right of first refusal if the County at some future time determined the property to be no longer needed for County use. On this matter, County Administrator R. A. Anderegg wrote to Superintendent Licari, "The board also directed me to inform you that they cannot foresee the property being abandoned at any time in the future." [16]

On September 5, 1979, Hamilton County conveyed the 16' x 220' strip, tract 01-103, to the National Park Service. Conveyance of the Southern and Young lot, tract 01-105, was delayed because of errors in the description of the property when it was acquired by the County in 1973. When the description was clarified, the lot was conveyed to the National Park Service on October 9, 1985.

In his negotiations with the Mt. Auburn Good Housing Foundation, Superintendent Licari received a proposal from the organization's president, Carl B. Westmoreland, offering the National Park Service clear title to the Sanning apartment house's access drive and parking lot for $1.00 in exchange for a list of agreements from the bureau. These agreements included a 99- year lease to the Foundation, a guarantee of twenty-five parking spaces plus one for each on-street parking space lost due to parking restrictions on Southern Avenue, the maintenance of the parking lot and drive by the National Park Service, the construction and maintenance of three retaining walls, and the provision of temporary parking at the Southern and Young lot for the Sanning residents during the period that the lot was being improved. [17] Upon review of the Foundation's proposal, the National Park Service determined that it was "unacceptable from a legal standpoint" and "an unacceptable burden from a management standpoint." [18]

With the County's intentions for the parcels under its ownership clarified and with negotiations continuing with the Mt. Auburn Good Housing Foundation over the Sanning apartment house parking lot, the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 expanded the boundaries of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site to include all four parcels of land. The law authorized the acquisition of the parcels should they become available.

Although final transfer of the Southern and Young lot and the Sanning apartment house lot had not been completed by the time the 1981 master plan was issued, they were incorporated into the discussion of the site's development. For the Southern and Young lot, the plan located a bus staging area and an overflow lot for automobile parking. (In 1984, Superintendent Boyd envisioned the parking lot as a community park and picnic area with limited parking in curb cuts on Young Street.) The Sanning apartment house lot was intended for automobile parking only.

In April 1982, the Interior Department issued a policy statement on the use of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. All agencies that used the fund were directed to identify lands needed to achieve their public objectives, to make use of alternatives to direct Federal purchase of land, to cooperate with other governmental entities and the private sector in the management of lands, and to prepare plans for land acquisition. In response to this policy, the National Park Service directed that all agency areas prepare a land protection plan.

Superintendent Maxine Boyd prepared the draft land protection plan in April 1983. The plan outlined the land holdings incorporated in or proposed for addition to the Taft National Historic Site. In this plan, Boyd stated her priority for acquiring a donation of the Sanning apartment parking lot. She also proposed to investigate ways to develop a 10-foot trail linking the Southern and Young lot to the Taft home through an easement or a fee. simple title. The trail could be located along Hamilton County's property or the property belonging to Mrs. A. G. Hauck who owned the property to the west of the Southern and Young lot. (The Hauck property was later sold to Christ Hospital.)

The evolution of the land holdings attached to the Taft home began with modest boundaries for the site consisting of two parcels. Together, they measured less than an acre. The parcel on the north, the Cross property, turned out to be unusable for parking purposes because of its sharp drop from the street level. During the master planning process of the 1970s, it emerged as the location of the visitor contact station. Additional parcels were considered, but their locations were less than ideal. The Sanning apartment house parking lot was suitable for car parking but not for buses because of its location below grade. In addition, separating the parking lot from the apartment house would bring considerable inconvenience to the Sanning residents and lower the value of the structure. The acquisition of the Sanning apartment house and its parking lot may emerge at some time in the future. The topography of the Southern and Young lot makes it suitable for bus and car parking. However, the lot is not adjacent to the Taft home.

The resulting patch-work quilt of lands was a factor of the underestimation by National Park Service staff members in the 1960s of the size of the site that would be necessary to support development and public visitation of the Taft home. In the 1970s, it became evident that the heavily urbanized block offered only a limited number of options for enlarging the site. Because the available land parcels are not contiguous, the eventual development of the site likely will not result in a slice of country life in the inner-city. Although the Cross property building was lost, the Taft home remains a mid-nineteenth century forerunner of the complex urban tapestry of modern Mt. Auburn.

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