Theodore Roosevelt is best known as the 26th President of the United States and the legendary “rough horseman” of the Spanish-American War. But much less is known about his deep connection and love for North Dakota, a state that played a major role in shaping his larger-than-life personality, adventurous spirit and immense love of the outdoors.
Now, almost 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 more than 30 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 out Roosevelt’s “strenuous life.” (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation)
The project is based on the three Roosevelt values: citizenship, leadership and conservation. The library, built on the outskirts of Medora, North Dakota, will overlook it Theodore Roosevelt National Parkthe only national park named after a person.
In the spirit of Roosevelt, the foundation behind the project is not just building an ordinary library. The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library will harness the power of both technology and nature to provide visitors with a highly immersive experience that, instead of closing you in, inspires and encourages you to experience the joy of the outdoors as Roosevelt did.
The library will not just try to inform 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 man’s life and experiences and president.
According to historians, Teddy Roosevelt fell in love with the Badlands during a hunting trip in the 1980s.
Citizenship
In a message announcing the project, Edward O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, said: “TR famously stood up to the critic and encouraged everyone to get ‘into the arena’ of life. “
O’Keefe, a native of North Dakota, explained that the library’s vision is to serve as a hub for community engagement, learning and research. The library will include a large auditorium that the foundation envisions as a space where future presidential debates could take place.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is intended to be a hub for community engagement, learning and research. The library will include a large auditorium that the foundation envisions as a space where future presidential debates could take place. (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation)
Above all, O’Keefe said the library will try to connect people with what Roosevelt always described as the “strenuous life” of the North Dakota wilderness.
“North Dakota is the center of the hero’s journey in TR’s almost unbelievable life story,” O’Keefe said.
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 taken from him, and he had to remember only one memory from his incredible life, he would choose to remember ‘my life on the ranch with its experiences close to nature and between the men who lived closest to her,” he explained. “He did not choose to remember the Roughriders or the attack on Kettle Hill; he would not remember the assassination of McKinley 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 United States Badlands of North Dakota in 1884, early twenties. He suffered 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 solace in the solitude and beauty of the wilderness.
Most importantly, Edward O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, said the library will seek to connect people with what Roosevelt always described as the “strenuous life” of the North Dakota wilderness.
He later wrote that he “would not have been president without my experience in North Dakota.”
With this in mind, O’Keefe said the library “won’t be a box in the Badlands with artifacts under glass,” but will be “an experience just like TR’s life.”
“We want every visitor to TR’s Presidential Library and Museum to come away and understand that nature is a restorative force in TR’s lives, and that each of us can be the change we want to see in the world” , O’Keefe said. . “This museum can be a platform for embracing civil dialogue, thoughtful debate and inspiration around the world.”
In front of the library, there will be a large circular walking path around the butte with several unique viewpoints along the way that encourage visitors to explore and reflect.
Conservation
After receiving approval from Congress and then-President Donald Trump, the foundation completed the purchase of the land for the U.S. Forest Service library in 2022. The land is close to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the famous Roosevelt Tower. Elkhorn Ranch.
The building was designed to live off the land, just like Roosevelt.
The project’s website states that just as Roosevelt “through his action, passion, and foresight ushered in a new era of conservation and stewardship of America’s natural landscape,” the library’s design “will reflect and expand those values, and will create an ambitious new era. standard for environmental conservation and sustainability leadership.”
The foundation uses local contractors and builds the library with materials that allow the building to minimize waste and emissions as well as water and energy use.
The building has an earthen roof that curves with the nearby butte. The grounds and roof will consist of native plants and grasses to help restore the region’s biodiversity, which has been degraded over time.
Rather than disrupt North Dakota’s rolling, grassy “burning hills,” the Library’s design team American-Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta I envisioned a building that blended naturally into the landscape. The building has an earthen roof that curves with the nearby butte. The grounds and roof will consist of native plants and grasses to help restore the region’s biodiversity, which has been degraded over time.
Photos shared exclusively by the foundation with Fox News Digital show that the library interior is already starting to take shape. Natural light streams down through glass ceiling panels, coloring a series of already completed massive rammed earth walls composed of a mixture of gravel, sand, silt and clay.
A photo first shared exclusively with Fox News Digital shows a series of already completed massive, rammed earth walls, made up of a mixture of gravel, sand, silt and clay. (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation)
Just in front of the library, there will be a large circular walking path around the butte with several unique viewpoints along the way that encourage visitors to explore and reflect.
A new chapter
The library is expected to open on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of America and the Declaration of Independence.
Theodore Roosevelt V, a great-grandson of the 26th president and an ally of the project, said through the library, “North Dakotans have secured a legacy not only for their state, but for our nation and the world.”
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library will be located in the North Dakota Badlands, where the famous president transformed from a New York City man to the legendary “rough rider.” (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation)
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But beyond North Dakota, Roosevelt said all Americans can be inspired by his great-great-grandfather’s enduring legacy.
“My great-great-grandfather’s legacy of citizenship, leadership and conservation is as relevant today as it was at the height of his presidency,” he said in a statement on the library’s website. “When you focus on people who are interested in solutions rather than divisive rhetoric, it becomes clear that there is much more that unites us than divides us – just as there was at the turn of the 20th century.”
Theodore Roosevelt stands at a podium and points to the crowd during a campaign speech. Approx. 1900. (Getty Images)
“Like Theodore Roosevelt, a man of paradoxes – republican and progressive, crusader against monopolies and capitalist, hunter and conservationist, partisan and independent, our country is made up of many different things. Finding the commonality between them could be the key to America’s future. “
