It was the birthplace and childhood home of William Howard Taft, the 27th president and the 10th chief justice of the United States.

Mount Auburn was once a popular area to live for upper-class Cincinnatians, as it allowed those of higher incomes to escape the sweltering heat and humidity of downtown Cincinnati summers.

[5][6][7] Alphonso's wife Fanny Phelps Taft died a year after the family moved to the Mount Auburn residence, in June 1852.

Afterward, the Taft family would spend less time in the house, starting when Alphonso served in the Ulysses S. Grant administration.

Alphonso and Louise would lease the house in 1889, moving to California because the climate was thought to be beneficial for those with declining health.

Louise eventually was able to sell the house outright, after ten years of trying, in 1899 to Judge Albert C. Thompson, after returning to her home town of Millbury, Massachusetts, to live with her sister.

[7] [9] [10] Within five years of the house leaving the Taft family, the front veranda was removed, replaced by a one-story porch.

In the 1940s the building was used as apartments, with the new owner Elbert R. Bellinger once considering selling it to become a funeral parlor for local blacks.

[2][12] A ceremony on September 15, 1964 (William's 107th birthday), celebrated the home becoming a National Historic Landmark.

[7] [10] [11][15][16] Letters and diary entries written by Louise Taft during her time in the home helped preservationists to return the domicile to how it appeared during William's childhood.