Your TR Source

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

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.