1982 Archeological Investigations at the Taft House Site, (33HA431), William Howard Taft National Historic Site, Cincinnati, Ohio

The Taft House Site (33HA43) constitutes the main historical and cultural resource of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site, Cincinnati, Ohio. Located at 2038 Auburn Avenue, the house was the birthplace and boyhood home of the 27th President of the United States.
The house and its accompanying property have witnessed extensive remodeling both during and subsequent to the Taft family occupation. Most recently, the deteriorating condition of the structure, particularly in the 1851 east extension of the house, has necessitated emergency stabilization procedures by the National Park Service. As a result, two periods of archeological testing were conducted on threatened portions of the site by the Midwest Archeological Center of the National Park Service. Spring testing was overseen by Mark Lynott (project supervisor) and carried out by Leslie Perry (field supervisor) with a crew of three between April 26 and May 5, 1982. An unexpected increase in the extent of construction-related excavations in the east wing basement required further archeological testing from July 12 to 16, 1982 by Jeff Richner of the Center.
This report presents the findings of both periods of testing and is organized into the following sections: 1) Introduction; 2) Background; 3) Research Objectives and Field Methods; 4) Excavations and Site Stratigraphy; 5) Artifact Descriptions; 6) Discussion of Archeological Findings; and 7) Conclusions and Management Recommendations. Because testing was conducted by two different individuals, research objectives and field methods for each period of testing are presented separately.