Theodore Roosevelt is best known as the 26th President of the United States and the legendary “rough-rider” of the Spanish-American War. But much less is known about his deep connection and love for North Dakota, a state that was instrumental in shaping his larger-than-life persona, adventuring spirit and immense love for the outdoors.
Now, nearly 106 years after his death, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation plans to celebrate and honor that connection between the man and the land that shaped him by opening a massive state-of-the-art presidential library built on over 90 acres in the North Dakota Badlands.
The interior of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library will use natural materials and lighting to draw visitors in and inspire them to seek the “strenuous life” enjoyed by Roosevelt. (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation)
The project is founded on the three Roosevelt values of citizenship, leadership and conservation. The library, built on the edge of Medora, North Dakota, will overlook Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is the only national park named after a person.
In the spirit of Roosevelt, the foundation behind the project is not building just any ordinary library. The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library will harness the power of both technology and nature to give visitors a highly immersive experience that rather than shutting one in, inspires and pushes you to experience the joy of the outdoors as Roosevelt did.
The library will not just seek to educate people about Roosevelt. Instead, it will use immersive storytelling methods, the latest technology, including augmented reality, and the surrounding nature in Medora, North Dakota, to show people of all ages what they can learn from the life and experiences of the man and president.
Teddy Roosevelt fell in love with the Badlands during a hunting trip in the 1880s, according to historians.
Citizenship
In a message announcing the project, Edward O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, said, “TR famously balked at the critic, and encouraged everyone to ‘get in the arena’ of life.”
O’Keefe, a North Dakota native, explained that the vision for the library is to serve as a hub for civic engagement, learning, and research. The library will include a large auditorium which the foundation envisions as a space that could host future presidential debates.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is meant to serve as a hub for civic engagement, learning, and research. The library will include a large auditorium which the foundation envisions as a space that could host future presidential debates. (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation)
Above all, O’Keefe said that the library will seek to connect people with what Roosevelt used to describe as the “strenuous life” of the North Dakota wilderness.
“North Dakota is the fulcrum of the hero’s journey in TR’s almost unbelievable life story,” said O’Keefe.
North America, USA, North Dakota, Medora, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Painted Canyon. (Photo by: Bernard Friel/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“[Roosevelt] wrote that if all his memories were to be taken from him, and he was forced only one memory from his incredible life he would choose to remember ‘my life on the ranch with its experiences close to nature and among the men who lived nearest her,’” he explained. “He did not choose the memory of the Roughriders or the charge up Kettle Hill; he would not recall McKinley’s assassination and his rise from the vice presidency to the Oval Office … TR chose to remember North Dakota, and so North Dakota chooses to remember TR.”
Leadership
Roosevelt, who served two transformative presidential terms from 1901 to 1909, moved to the North Dakota Badlands in 1884 in his early twenties. He was suffering from a broken heart after both his wife and mother died on the same fateful day. It was in North Dakota that the broken man found comfort in the solitude and beauty of the wilderness.
Above all, Edward O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, said that the library will seek to connect people with what Roosevelt used to describe as the “strenuous life” of the North Dakota wilderness.
Conservation
After receiving the approval of Congress and then-President Donald Trump, the foundation completed its purchase of the land for the library from the U.S. Forest Service in 2022. The land is situated close to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Roosevelt’s famous Elkhorn Ranch.
The building is designed to be able to live off the land, just as Roosevelt did.
The project website states that just as “through his action, passion, and foresight, Roosevelt ushered in a new era of conservation and stewardship of the American natural landscape,” the library’s design “will reflect and expand upon those values, setting an ambitious new standard for environmental conservation and sustainability leadership.”
The foundation is utilizing local contractors and constructing the library with materials that will allow the building to minimize waste and emissions as well as water and energy usage.
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The building has an earthen roof that curves with the nearby butte. The grounds and roof will be made up of native plants and grasses so as to help restore the biodiversity of the region which has been degraded over time.
