B08_Solicitation_(Attachment_01_-_A04_SOW_140P6025Q0052).pdf

S C O P E O F W O R K

HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

OHIO

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR – NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

PMIS PROJECT NUMBER # 236714

I. Introduction

The National Park Service (NPS), through the Midwest Regional Office (MWRO), requires the performance of research and writing of an Historic Resource Study for William Howard Taft National Historic Site, Cincinnati, Ohio. The study will help complete basic historical documentation of the park’s history and resources as they relate to our 27th president and chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, William Howard Taft. The information contained in the Historic Resource Study is essential for present and future interpretation and resource management.

This Historic Resource Study is a comprehensive synthesis of primary and secondary source material that is pertinent to William Howard Taft National Historic Site, the Taft family, and William Howard Taft specifically. The study shall conform to professional standards regarding methodology of historical research and writing. Stylistic, bibliographical, and report production standards shall conform to the current edition of the Chicago Manual of Style and follow the NPS Harpers Ferry Style Guide.

The Historic Resource Study, including enumerated appendices, graphics, and index shall be completed within twenty-four months from the date of the contract award.

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE RESOURCES

William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Cincinnati, Ohio, consists of a large house and several tracts of land. The associated landscape has changed considerably over time when the Taft family sold the property in 1899 and 1969, when the National Historic Site was created. The property is a National Historic Landmark and it represents the family, birthplace, and boyhood home of William Howard Taft (1857-1930), the only man to serve as both President of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States.

The house at 2038 Auburn Avenue is close to the crest of a steep hill that rises from the flat Ohio River basin. Cincinnati's burgeoning commercial waterfront pushed settlement to the edges of the flat peninsula that spread along the Ohio River. Affluent citizens escaped the lowland heat and congestion by building homes in the surrounding hills. Mt. Auburn, just to the north, was one of the earliest hillsides to be settled. The small community marked by large houses and spacious yard was accessible by omnibus.

Augustus Hopkins is credited for building the original two-story brick structure at 60 Auburn Street (now 2038 Auburn Avenue) in the early 1840s. In 1851, Alphonso Taft purchased it on

1.82 acres of land extending from Auburn Street eastward (beyond present-day Young Street) for $10,000. Alphonso Taft had moved to Cincinnati in 1838 from Vermont. He was one of a large number of ambitious young men from New England who sought greater economic opportunities in Ohio. He had married Fanny Phelps, also of Vermont, and over the following decade they had five children, only two of whom lived to adulthood--Charles Phelps Taft (1843) and Peter Rawson Taft (1845). As Alphonso Taft became more prosperous, his wife’s health worsened, and the family found the healthier environment of Mt. Auburn and their new home amidst other New Englander-neighbors invigorating.

Alphonso Taft set about making alterations to his house, first adding a brick ell at the rear.

Because of the sloping ground, the addition rose three stories and featured an entrance at the ground floor. Plumbing, cabinetry, and interior painting reflected the tastes of the new occupants. In spite of the move, Fanny Taft died in 1852. Alphonso Taft remarried later the following year to Louise Maria Torrey, a fellow New Englander. Upon refurnishing the large house to fit her preferences, the couple began their own family. Samuel, their first son died from whooping cough at fourteen months. Their next son, William Howard Taft, future president of the United States, was born in the house on September 15, 1857. Two more sons, Henry Waters Taft and Horace Dutton Taft, followed and then a daughter, Frances Louise Taft.

According to one historian, “During the time William Howard and his siblings were growing up in Mt. Auburn, the Taft family was an integral part of the social, intellectual, and political elite of Cincinnati, if not of Ohio. The Taft’s hosted many illustrious visitors and participated in national movements, such as abolitionism and temperance. Discussions in the house focused on a wide range of topics covering national politics, social causes, and international events. In the house, the Taft’s mingled with politicians, businessmen, and military leaders who later influenced the course of merican history.” The Mt. Auburn house provided the setting where the Taft children matured, learned life lessons, and formed good civic character and ambitions.

Following the end of the American Civil War, Ohio benefitted from post-war reconstruction.

Alphonso Taft became a civil servant in late 1865 when he accepted an appointment to the Ohio Supreme Court and was subsequently elected to that position. In 1875, Alphonso Taft ran for governor but he lost the Republican nomination to Rutherford B. Hayes. The following year, he was named Secretary of War and later Attorney General in President Ulysses S. Grant's cabinet.

In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur named Alphonso to the position of U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary and in 1884, to Russia.

While Alphonso Taft political fortune blossomed, his son William Howard Taft attended Woodward High School and in 1874, entered Yale College. William Howard Taft regularly spent months at a time at the Mt. Auburn house between 1874 and 1886 reconnecting with family and friends. After graduation from Yale in 1878, William Howard Taft attended Cincinnati Law School and lived with his parents. Soon after his admission to the Ohio bar, he was appointed Assistant Prosecutor of Hamilton County. In 1886, William Howard married Nellie Herron and settled in Walnut Hills, another of the hills that surrounded Cincinnati's central area.

Taft quickly moved up the ladder, including becoming Judge of Cincinnati's Superior Court, Solicitor General of the United States, serving on the Federal Circuit Court, as Governor General of the Philippine Islands, and as Secretary of War in 1904 under President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1908, Taft won the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency and was subsequently elected 27th U.S. President. As president, Taft became a fierce trust-buster, dissolving such corporate giants as the Standard Oil Company and the American Tobacco Company. In 1912, Taft and Roosevelt had a falling out and each ran separately for the presidency against Woodrow Wilson, thereby ensuring Wilson's victory. After leaving the White House, Taft returned to Yale as a professor of constitutional law. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft Chief Justice of the United States, thus becoming the only person in United States history to serve as head of two branches of the Federal Government. Taft died from heart disease in 1930.

Although Taft's illustrious career falls beyond the immediate story of the Taft home, its roots, early development, and ultimate destination can be explored through the property.

The Taft Home experienced its own transition. When the Alphonso Taft family returned from Washington in 1877, a fire caused extensive damage. In the course of making repairs, several alterations were made. They elevated the upper story three additional feet from eight feet to eleven feet and an iron cornice was placed around the house. New sills, sash, and shutters were added, and other changes were made to the 1851 east wing. New wallpaper and wall finishes were applied to the interior and new light fixtures were installed. In subsequent years, the Taft’s made other changes to the house. A mantle made by Heinrich Fry was placed in the parlor.

Another mantle by Rogers was placed in the library.

In the late 1880s, Alphonso's health began to decline. He and Louise Taft made one last trip to New England in 1889 and then headed to San Diego for its warmer climate. Alphonso died there in 1891. Louise Taft returned to her hometown of Millbury, Massachusetts. By late 1889, the house at 60 Auburn Street had ceased to be occupied by a Taft and a succession of tenants rented the house. In the ten years between 1889 and 1899, the Taft’s engaged in several attempts to sell the house. The difficulty encountered in these attempts once prompted Louise Taft to consider razing the house and selling it to a developer interested in building apartment houses. In 1899 it was finally sold to Judge Albert C. Thompson. The Thompsons occupied the property until 1910 when Judge Thompson died. In 1912, Mrs. Thompson sold the house (now addressed 2038 Auburn Avenue) to Colonel Ernest H. Ruffner of the U.S. Corps of Engineers who had served as district engineer in Cincinnati. Upon Colonel Ruffner's death in 1937, the property was again put up for sale, this time by Ruffner's daughter, Violet DeBus.

By 1937, the house had gained the respect of age and of historical association with deceased President Taft and the first efforts to preserve it came with the formation of the William Howard Taft Memorial Association. Efforts for the preservationists to buy the property were not successful and DeBus sold it to Elbert R. Bellinger on April 12, 1940. The Bellinger’s occupied the adjoining house to the south at 2030 Auburn Avenue and they subdivided the Taft Home into apartments. They sold their own home to Hamilton County in 1951 for its Youth Detention Home and the Bellinger’s moved into the rear first floor apartment in the Taft Home.

With Taft family support, the Memorial Association continued efforts to acquire the property with the approaching centennial of President Taft’s birth in 1957. At the request of the local congressman in 1959, the National Park Service agreed to consider including the Taft Home in its National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings and a study was scheduled for 1961.

Meanwhile, the president’s son, Charles Taft, negotiated a 100-year lease with Bellinger, gave him lifetime rights to the first-floor apartment and a $250 per month payment, and rights to buy the property from Bellinger’s heirs. In 1961, Taft transferred the lease to the Memorial Association and a restoration process began. In April 1964, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L.

Udall designated the Taft Home a National Historic Landmark.

The cost of restoration proved daunting and in 1965 Charles Taft began advocating for the Federal Government to assume responsibility, citing the recent authorization of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Iowa. In 1966, Taft began lobbying the Ohio Congressional Delegation to act and a bill was introduced in the House in early 1967 followed by a similar Senate bill. The year also marked Bellinger’s death, thus clearing the way to acquire the property in fee. With the beginning of a new Congress in 1969, companion bills were again reintroduced, passed in the fall, and President Richard Nixon signed into law on December 2, 1969, Public Law 91-132 authorizing the William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

In its 56 years, the park has never had a Historic Resource Study.

Research Project – Develop and Complete the Historic Resource Study for William Howard Taft National Historic Site

This project will provide a comprehensive Historic Resource Study (HRS) of William Howard Taft National Historic Site, documenting the Taft family and their life in the home high on a hilltop overlooking downtown Cincinnati and the surrounding Ohio River Valley where steamboats and railroads arrived and departed--making it one of Ohio’s important economic urban centers. The Mount Auburn neighborhood where the Taft home is located was perched above “The Basin” of the lower city center. The nearby Deer Creek Valley hosted the Miami and Erie Canal to the east, another important artery that linked the Ohio River to Lake Erie more than 200 miles north.

A geologic section describing the lay of the land formed by interglacial periods is important to the place and its subsequent development by early settlers. This should be followed by a discussion of Indigenous people from Paleo-Indians to the Adena and Hopewell cultures—and the earthworks they left behind—to the Fort Ancient culture, leading to later tribal groups who lived in and around the region. This would be followed by detailing the arrival of the French and other Europeans who sought to trade in furs during a period leading up to the five nations of the Iroquois confederacy which dominated the area and controlled travel in the 17th century. Other tribes like the Shawnee, Delaware, and Wyandot settled in the region, followed by the Miami and Mingo. British traders challenged the French for dominance in the fur trade and soon won over the various tribal groups leading to the French and Indian War that resulted in French withdrawal and ceding land to Spain and Britain. Resistance to British rule by Odawa chief Pontiac led Indian tribes to ally themselves with the British when threatened by American settlers pushing westward from their East Coast colonies.

Following the American Revolutionary War and Treaty of Paris in 1783, the area including Ohio passed to the new United States of America. British traders maintained their fort depots for trade purposed and challenged American control which eventually sparked the War of 1812.

Settlers flooded the Trans-Appalachain west and a small group founded Cincinnati in December 1788, with Fort Washington founded a year later across the river in Kentucky. Following the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, immigration increased and Cincinnati began doubling in size every few years. Ohio statehood came in 1803 and the city had more than 230,000 residents by the following census in 1810. With American victory in the War of 1812 and smashing Tecumseh’s power base, removal of Indians from the state began. One of the early immigrants was a man from Vermont, Alphonso Taft, father of William Howard Taft.

A history of Cincinnati’s early history and development as an interior port called “Queen of the West” and its various socio-economic based neighborhoods should be developed in the HRS setting the scene for Taft family occupation and how life in southern Ohio differed from the slave economy across the river. The history needs to cover the several decades of Taft family life in Cincinnati and how this environment shaped the life of a future president and supreme court chief justice.

The HRS is an urgent necessity for current management as it will examine the life and career of William Howard Taft acting on his childhood, upbringing, family associations all tied to his Cincinnati birthplace and boyhood home. A historian(s) will be contracted to prepare the Historic Resource Study. It will be based on an analysis of primary and secondary source material from park records, local and state repositories, as well as the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Primary sources include existing informal oral history interview summaries with former employees, family members, and others associated with William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

An outstanding park baseline document to consult is the recent updated Administrative History (Theodore Catton, Home on a Hill: Administrative History of William Howard Taft National Historic Site, Ohio (Omaha, Nebraska: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office, 2020). Catton’s work does an excellent job of presenting a historiographical essay on William Howard Taft, his life, accomplishments, and place in presidential history. This will be a key component of the HRS with a unique focus on the man’s childhood, upbringing, education, and early adulthood – how it all coalesced and led to the man from an important Cincinnati political family emerging on the national and world stage. The HRS will build on these early developmental years and influences and continue with Taft’s rise in legal and political circles while grounding him in his Ohio familial and community roots.

Purpose per National Park Service Director’s Order 28: “A historic resource study (HRS) provides a historical overview of a park or region and identifies and evaluates a park's cultural resources within historic contexts. It synthesizes all available cultural resource information from all disciplines in a narrative designed to serve managers, planners, interpreters, cultural resource specialists, and interested public as a reference for the history of the region and the resources within a park. Entailing both documentary research and field investigations to determine and describe the integrity, authenticity, associative values, and significance of resources, the HRS supplies data for resource management and interpretation. It includes the preparation of National Register nominations for all qualifying resources (already accomplished) and is a principal tool for completing the Cultural Landscapes Inventory and the List of Classified Structures. The HRS identifies needs for special history studies, cultural landscape reports, and other detailed studies and may make recommendations for resource management and interpretation.

“HRSs will vary in scope depending on management needs. Relevant information readily available in other sources need not be included except by reference. Additional HRSs are appropriate to address themes, resource types, and other subject matter not originally covered.

Although the HRS is interdisciplinary in character, the principal investigator is usually a historian.”

The completed study will include the following elements:

A. Overview of geological setting and how it shaped cultural history, Indigenous life, Euro- American exploration and settlement of southern Ohio.

B. Founding of Cincinnati as an important urban port city and its social, economic, and political development. Will include immigration and slavery in the context of 19th century American history C. Discussion of Auburn Avenue neighborhood development, Taft Home and family history, educational, legal, and political background of the influential Taft family;

William Howard Taft’s birth, boyhood, education, and early adulthood in context of the family’s Auburn Avenue home

D. William Howard Taft’s marriage, his own family, legal experiences, and early career in Ohio

E. Career in law and politics from a prominent Republican political family while tying him continuously to his Cincinnati, Ohio birthplace, boyhood/early adult family home;

F. Career as President of the United States for a single term (1909-1913); Career as 10th

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1921-1930); death and burial in Arlington National Cemetery; accolades and criticisms of Taft following his passing

G. Life/career accomplishments on national and world stage by developing a historiographical context (building on one provided in recently completed Administrative History) along with discussion of Taft-based literature which ties the man to his early roots in Cincinnati and the Taft Home – a unit of the National Park System and a National Historic Landmark.

H. Bibliography of source materials, including all previous research, surveys, and reports dealing with William Howard Taft National Historic Site, scholarly documents concerning William Howard Taft, and the writings/publications of Taft himself.

I. Appendices pertaining to the Historic Resource Study, including a recommendation section for the National Park Service to program for additional research to assist resource management, planning, and interpretation at William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

NOTE: The study shall include appropriate maps and other figures within the narrative, including historic and contemporary photographs. The photographs shall have captions and identify their source. The updated National Register nomination shall also be an appendix.

J. During final signature approval of the HRS by the National Park Service, an “Index” will be prepared which incorporates all names, places, structures, sites, objects, districts, cultural landscapes, complexes, historic functions, and themes referenced in the document. Used in conjunction with the “Table of Contents,” the index will assist readers in finding particular topics of interest with ease.

A primary emphasis of the study will provide a historiographical narrative related to Taft’s career and life accomplishments by utilizing the body of Taft scholarly literature to detail how his Cincinnati origins drove and influenced his career and achievements.

Therefore, a draft of the completed Historic Resource Study with all above specified elements (5 hard copies and electronic copy) will be prepared and provided to NPS for review and comment according to a planning schedule and matrix outlined between NPS and contractor at the start of the project. Contractor will then incorporate all comments and resubmit a final draft. During approval of the Historic Resource Study by NPS, an index (generated by the latest version of Microsoft Word) will be prepared which incorporates all significant names, places, objects, activities, and programs referenced in the document. Used in conjunction with the Table of Contents, the Index will assist readers in finding particular topics of interest with ease. The final draft will then be reviewed by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) to ensure all NPS comments have been incorporated, and then submitted for approval signatures.

Contractor will utilize the files, library, and archives of William Howard Taft National Historic Site as well as Taft research repositories in Ohio and Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Contractor will have the benefit of all previous NPS produced studies including updated/current National Register documentation of the William Howard Taft National Historic Site (October 21, 2015) as well as the National Historic Landmark nomination (October 31, 2016). Both define boundaries, elaborate on historical significance, integrity, contributing resources, period of significance, cultural landscape, as well as detail modern, noncontributing elements. Also available are oral history interviews conducted for the park, including 12 performed as part of the Administrative History update.

III. General Proposal Outlines

The prospective contractor must formulate a study proposal and itemized cost proposal in response to this Scope of Work. The proposal must describe in detail the investigator's research strategy and qualifications of personnel responsible for completion of the study. Minimally, the study must individually address each topic (A-J) outlined in Section II, above.

The proposal will consist of:

A. Research strategy

1. A description of the methods, techniques, and procedures of research, including a summary of repositories and other sources of information to be used.

2. A planning schedule and matrix identifying key project milestones and associated products pertaining to the project.

3. A preliminary draft for NPS review, a final review draft, and, following the recommendation of the Superintendent and approval by the Regional Director, 100 printed and perfect bound copies.

B. Personnel qualifications

1. The Principal Investigator The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for all aspects of managing the proposed study.

The PI must have a Ph.D. or equivalent in United States History or Public History (no exceptions). A level of experience equivalent to a Ph.D. is acceptable and may be evidenced by a publication record demonstrating a professional level of research, analysis, and report preparation. It is expected that the publication record will reflect an understanding and ability to apply research methodology, and education and experience beyond that of a project historian.

2. Project Historian(s) Although the overall research design, guidance, and responsibility for the completed study lies with the Principal Investigator, the PI may utilize the assistance of project historians (PH) and other project staff at their discretion to accomplish the research. The minimum requirements for a PH are a Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in United States History or Public History from an accredited college or university followed by two years of graduate study with a concentration in the field. A Master's thesis in history or its equivalent in research and publication are highly recommended.

3. Standards for consultants Personnel hired or subcontracted for their special knowledge and expertise must carry academic and experiential qualifications in their particular area of expertise. Such qualifications are to be documented by means of vitae attachments when the proposal is prepared and submitted.

C. Price Proposal

The prospective contractor must submit a line-item cost proposal for the project, including the following items:

1. Personnel services

a. Principal Investigator

b. Other personnel

c. Miscellaneous personal expenses

2. Supplies and equipment

3. Travel

4. Cost of analysis and report preparation

5. Overhead, Indirect, and In-kind costs as applicable

6. Other expenses

7. Total project cost

The proposal must include a work schedule diagramming the duration of field and archival work outlined in the research strategy section of the proposal.

IV. Additional Contract Requirements

A. General provisions

1. Prospective contractors should note that the research design submitted by the contractor becomes a binding element of the contract and is expected to be carried out. The research performed and reported must meet the minimum requirements.

2. Within 30 days of award of contract, the contractor shall participate in a post-award scoping meeting to be held virtually or at William Howard Taft National Historic Site to discuss technical aspects of the contract and to confirm the planning schedule for the submission of the deliverables.

3. The production of the Historic Resource Study shall be completed within 24 months of contract award.

B. Report standards/format and submission schedule The final report will be in the latest version of Microsoft Word and include the information required in the specifications listed in Section II, above. It must be typed on 8-1/2 by 11-inch white paper. All pages must be numbered. Copies of photographs (screened for reproduction clarity), maps, drawings, and text must be clean, clear, and legible. The format must comply with the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. The document must be Section 508 compliant.

In addition, all reports must contain the following:

1. Title/Cover page listing the name of the Principal Investigator. If the report is also authored by Project Historians, the title page must identify the author(s) and bear the inscription, "Prepared under the supervision of (name), Principal Investigator." The title/cover page shall also include signature and date lines for three approving officials in the following order:

“Recommended/Superintendent, William Howard Taft National Historic Site/Date;

Concurred/Associate Regional Director, Cultural Resources/Date; and Approved/Regional Director/Date."

2. Five (5) hard copies of the chapter outline and an electronic copy will be submitted nine months following contract award for NPS review and approval. The outline shall include descriptions of each chapter containing sufficient detail to demonstrate the complete range of topics and themes to be discussed as well as chronological periods. NPS will provide review comments on the chapter outline to the PI within 30 days of receipt of the document. The PI shall make necessary revisions and submit the final chapter outline to NPS within 15 days of receipt by the contractor. The outline will provide the basis for the “Table of Contents” for the Historic Resource Study.

3. Five (5) hard copies of the draft report and an electronic copy will be submitted twenty months following contract award to NPS for review. The draft will be typed, double-spaced, with numbered reference lines in the left margins on each page of text (for reviewers to target their comments to specific line numbers) and will include all maps, graphics, footnotes, and appendices to be included in the final report. The draft will be reviewed by NPS for contract sufficiency and professional quality. Within 45 days of receipt by NPS, the draft will be reviewed and the contractor will be notified when review comments will be transmitted. During the period of revision of the draft, the contractor will consult with NPS to ensure the satisfactory resolution of review comments and submission of a final draft in a timely manner.

4. A final draft report addressing review comments transmitted to the contractor by NPS will be submitted to NPS prior to printing of the final document (hard copy on archival paper and an electronic copy) . The contractor will design appropriate cover art/graphics including the NPS Arrowhead for the camera-ready final document. Printing on the document's spine will include title, author, National Park Service, and year of publication. Within 60 days of NPS acceptance of the final draft (indicated by the three required signatures specified above) and before expiration of the twenty-four month contract period of performance, the contractor will furnish one (1) camera-ready unbound final document printed on archival paper (this is the archival hard copy submitted for signature approval previously mentioned), 100 dry ink digital printed and separately perfect-bound copies of the report, and a compact computer disk or disks containing the final document in the latest version of Microsoft Word.

5. Should there be any additional oral history interviews conducted: All interviews conducted will be digitally recorded and written summaries of the information provided will be prepared.

All interview candidates must give written approval or sign an interview rights release form (format to be supplied by NPS) to use the information they agree to provide. All recordings, written summaries, written approvals/signed interview rights release forms will be transmitted to NPS with the final document.

C. Disposition of data

At the conclusion of research and within 60 days of written acceptance of the final camera-ready report, all notes, records, maps, drawings, photographs, negatives, slides, digital images, tapes, digital recordings transcripts, and other data acquired during the course of this study will be professionally organized for archival purposes and submitted to the Contracting Officers Representative, to be deposited in the archives of William Howard Taft National Historic Site.

D. Progress reports

Quarterly progress reports during the performance of the research and writing phases of this contract are required (separate from notes by contractor of the post-award meeting). The initial due date will be 90 days after contract award. All quarterly reports will be submitted to the appointed COR, National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office, 601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, Nebraska 68102-4226. Alternatively, reports may be delivered via email to the COR.

V. Payment

Partial payments may be made up to 80% of the contract award amount. Payments must be based on deliverables accepted by the government (see FAR 52.212-4(a), Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items, Inspection/Acceptance & FAR 52.211-1, Time of Delivery).

Payment requests must be in accordance with the clause titled, Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements - Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) and may be submitted up to once per month for work performed or costs incurred. All work/costs must be accepted and approved by the

COR.

VI. Endorsement Proposals submitted for consideration must be accompanied by a signed cover letter. If the proposal is submitted by an organization it must bear the endorsement of both the Principal Investigator and a representative of the organization who is empowered to commit the organization to such an undertaking.