North Dakota--Dickinson

Report on the 2011 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in Medora and Dickinson, North Dakota. The report highlights the various venues for the meeting including Dickinson State University, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and Medora, and it notes the winners of three awards conferred by the TRA. Thirty-eight photographs comprise most of the report, including twenty-six of the various guests, dignitaries, and speakers as well as twelve photographs of the North Dakota Badlands.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2012

James F. Vivian provides a look at Theodore Roosevelt’s time in the North Dakota Badlands with a collection of newspaper accounts, ranging from 1898 to 1915, drawn from interviews with Roosevelt’s friends, fellow ranchers, cowboys, and acquaintances. Vivian provides an introduction and an afterword to the article, as well as an introduction to each of its twelve sections. The accounts include reminiscences from the likes of William Sewall, Arthur T. Packard, and the brothers Sylvane Ferris and Joseph Ferris. Vivian contends that these interviews “corroborate the content and quality” of the work done by Hermann Hagedorn in his book Roosevelt in the Bad Lands.

Ten photographs appear in the article, including three of Roosevelt’s contemporaries, Frederick Herrig, James W. Foley, and Arthur T. Packard, along with two photographs of the museum dedicated to Roosevelt onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. An illustration by Frederic Remington of Roosevelt’s capture of the boat thieves, and a text box with a listing of the members of the executive committee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Abbreviated form of Theodore Roosevelt’s speech at the Fourth of July celebration held in Dickinson, Dakota Territory on July 4, 1886. Roosevelt asks the crowd to remember that Americans have duties as well as rights and privileges, and he makes a point of telling his listeners that he is proud to be a westerner. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1886-07-04

“Teddy” Crombie identifies himself as the boy “who rode a little way” with Theodore Roosevelt when he visited Billings, Montana. Crombie wishes that he could have talked with Roosevelt about his travels in Africa. Some of the men on the train also inquired how many towns Crombie has “shot up.” Crombie has not shot any towns up, but he did kill a deer last Sunday. Crombie used to live in Dickinson, North Dakota, and knows many of Roosevelt’s friends, including John Winfield Goodall.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1912-10-13

William Wingate Sewall describes the pursuit and capture of three thieves that stole a boat from Theodore Roosevelt. The boat, the best one on the Little Missouri River, had been purchased by Roosevelt in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and it was very useful. Sewall and Wilmot Dow built a new boat and they headed after the thieves a few days after the boat went missing. The thieves were captured without violence and Roosevelt accompanied them to Dickinson, Dakota Territory, for trial. Sewall and Dow continued down the river with the boats to Mandan, Dakota Territory, and then took a train back to Medora, Dakota Territory.

Collection

State Historical Society of North Dakota

Creation Date

1886-04-21

President Roosevelt greets citizens in Dickinson. He speaks of his previous time in Dickinson and their success since then.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-07

President Roosevelt briefly greets a crowd in Dawson, North Dakota. He speaks about his time living in the Dakota territory and working on cattle trains.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-07

Acting Regional Director Stanley C. Joseph writes to National Park Service Director Drury regarding accommodations for the director’s party during the dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. Joseph asks whether the party would like reservations made at the Custer Trail Ranch near Medora.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1949-05-23

Theodore Roosevelt was “overjoyed and relieved” to hear of the birth of Corinne Douglas Robinson. He is currently hosting Lispenard Stewart and Doctor Taylor at his ranch. They are getting along well but are very sore from yesterday’s long ride. Roosevelt gave a Fourth of July speech in Dickinson to a “great crowd of cowboys and grangers.” He is reluctant to accept Mayor William Russell Grace’s offer and if he continues to make long stays in Dakota Territory he may entirely give up his eastern life.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1886-07-05

National Park Service Director Drury writes a detailed letter to Horace M. Albright about the recent dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. Drury describes the ceremony, other events that took place while he was in North Dakota, and the time he spent with other government officials who also attended.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1949-06-08

Superintendent Hanks writes to the National Park Service Regional Director regarding a lawsuit that is being brought against the Greater North Dakota Association. James McCarten, a participant in the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park dedication program, was injured and is suing the GNDA for medical expenses. Hanks encloses a report by District Ranger Grimm about the incident.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1950-04-26

Theodore Roosevelt relates the chase and capture of three thieves that had stolen his boat. The thieves were captured along the river and then Roosevelt took them overland to the sheriff in Dickinson, Dakota Territory. He read Anna Karenina during the trip and has mixed feelings about the quality of the book but enjoyed Leo Tolstoy’s writing style. Roosevelt requests that Corinne Roosevelt Robinson deliver some flowers to Edith Kermit Carow before Carow travels abroad.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1886-04-12

A staged image of William Wingate Sewall and Wilmot Dow in pursuit of boat thieves. In March 1886, three thieves stole a boat from Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch. Sewall and Dow made a new boat, shown here, and pursued them with Roosevelt. They captured the thieves after several days, but were hindered in bringing them in by ice on the Little Missouri River. Roosevelt took the men in over land to Dickinson (N.D.), where they were indicted.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Creation Date

1886

Careful consideration will be given to the request for President Eisenhower to be a Theodore Roosevelt centennial speaker in the spring or summer of 1958 in Dickinson, North Dakota.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1957-11-23

Invitation to a public meeting to discuss the proposed Theodore Roosevelt Centennial Symposium.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1957-09-28

This Civilian Conservation Corps project requires filling in an area 262ft by 200ft with earth so it can be used as a service area within the southern unit of Roosevelt Recreational Demonstration Area (SP-8) in western North Dakota. The project will develop a service area with an office to be used by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1939-1940

This Civilian Conservation Corps project involves cleaning fallen trees and branches at a picnicking area within the southern unit of Roosevelt Recreational Demonstration Area (SP-8) in western North Dakota. The project will restore that campground for visitors to use by moving dead trees and installing picnic tables.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1940

The Civilian Conservation Corps. job record #286 is in regard to landscaping around a section of constructed park road within the southern unit of Roosevelt Recreational Demonstration Area (SP-8) in western North Dakota. The project will restore the natural landscape around a section of constructed road (CCC job #283) off of the east entrance road; a memorandum and job documentation attached.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1939-1940

Senator Hansbrough recommends Reverend Gallagher for appointment as a Navy chaplain.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-06

Chester L. Brooks writes to Ethel Roosevelt Derby regarding accommodation arrangements for her family’s western trip.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1953-12-22