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Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established by an Act of Congress in 1947 to memorialize Roosevelt’s western legacy and his conservation ethic. The national park encompasses roughly 70,000 acres of rugged badlands in western North Dakota, the place about which Roosevelt declared, “It was here that the romance of my life began.”
The Theodore Roosevelt National Park collection includes federal documents, historical studies, photographs, and a variety of three-dimensional items related to the development of the park. Historical studies such as Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch, written by National Park Service historians, offer insight into Theodore Roosevelt’s time as a rancher in the Badlands. Other materials tell the story of how two Civilian Conservation Corps camps and the National Park Service developed the early infrastructure and framework of the park. Historical photographs depict the park’s development and illuminate the history of other nearby points of interest, including the town of Medora, the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site, and former ranches now within the park boundary.
This collection has been digitized and cataloged on site at Theodore Roosevelt National Park by digital library staff. See below to view items from this collection in the digital library.
Digitization of items at the National Park sites was possible thanks to National Park Service Centennial Challenge Funding in partnership with Dickinson State University.
This clipping includes an article written by Richard Mayne, the Chairman of the Department of Reading & Speech Culture, regarding Theodore Roosevelt’s pronunciation of his own name, and features a printed response by Robert Barnwell Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1903-05-25
Manuscript detailing Theodore Roosevelt’s experiences in the Badlands and how that affected his political career and values.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1949
Chester L. Brooks responds to Carleton Putnam’s request for details related to Putnam’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt. Brooks is unable to confirm the exact dates of Roosevelt’s 1883 bison hunt and whether it coincided with a Sioux hunt that September. Brooks explains what he uses as the proper forms of the names of Bill Merrifield and George Meyers, based on his research. Brooks mentions that Ethel Roosevelt Derby and her family plan to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, the first of Theodore Roosevelt’s children to do so since the park was established in 1947.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1954-08-17
Article detailing Theodore Roosevelt’s experience in the Badlands in the 1880s and involvement with ranching and cattle.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1904
Portion of the original printing of the Proceedings of a Conference of Governors, including the plan of the conference, the calendar, a roster of participants, the table of contents, and the verbatim record of the opening session of the conference, during which President Roosevelt delivered an address.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1909
Bettie Wingert tells her mother about Colonel Theodore Roosevelt’s visit to Helena, Montana, including dinner at the Kohrs’s home and the speech Roosevelt gave on “good citizenship and high thinking.”
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1911-13-04
A copy of a research paper regarding the history and historic preservation of Medora, North Dakota. The paper focuses on the architecture and construction of the town between the years 1883-1886.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1957-1961
Manuscript extensively documents the history of the North Dakota Badlands up until 1879, including details about the fur trade, Lewis and Clark, conflicts with Indians, the development of the Keogh Trail and Theodore Roosevelt’s arrival.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1953-07