Theodore Roosevelt library opening recalls past, calls for civic engagement

MEDORA, N.D. — Theodore Roosevelt V said his great-great-grandfather thought U.S. citizenship was not to be treated as an inherited title, but something that required service and responsibility. 

“Today, we might call it showing up for our communities, for one another, for the places we love, and most importantly, for the future we owe those who come after us,” Roosevelt said Saturday at the public opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

As America celebrated its 250th birthday, the flag-waving visitors got their first chance to show up for the library dedicated to Roosevelt, who credited his time in North Dakota’s Badlands for helping him reach the White House. Roosevelt became one of America’s most revered presidents. 

The 96,000-square-foot library was built at the Old West-themed tourist town of Medora that is the gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  

“Theodore Roosevelt’s life should not make us nostalgic for a more heroic past. It should make us more determined to build a worthy future,” Roosevelt V said. 

Roosevelt’s family has been heavily involved with the development of the highly interactive library at Medora. 

The library had been toured by officials and donors in the days leading up to the public opening, highlighted by a visit from President Donald Trump on Wednesday. 

The grand opening ceremony began at 10:27 a.m., corresponding with Roosevelt’s birthday on Oct. 27, 1858. 

The ceremony began with a blessing of the land and library from the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, and included Rough Riders on horseback, like the brigade led by Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War. 

Hilary Hamm, chair of the board of trustees, said the library does not ignore Roosevelt’s flaws and complexities, such as his racist views on Indigenous people.

The library was built to “confront history honestly,” said Hamm, daughter of major benefactor Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources. 

She said she also hoped the library would be “a call back to engagement” with public service at a time when people may be discouraged with political division in America.

People were lined up well before 8:30 a.m., when they were allowed to gather for the opening ceremony, visit the gift shop and take in views of the Badlands. The library provided free tickets to 3,500 people for the opening ceremony, and 1,800 ticket-holders planned to view the exhibits, said spokesperson Matt Briney.

New garden symbolizes work that remains to build relationship between tribes, Roosevelt library

Collin Burkhart of Helena, Montana, drove seven hours to be near the front of the line for Saturday’s public opening. Burkhart said he works as a librarian with a special interest in early 20th Century history, when Roosevelt served as America’s 26th president. 

When he heard about plans for the library, “I knew I had to show up,” Burkhart said. 

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, who’s from Dickinson east of Medora, went into the history books to quote a speech Roosevelt made in Dickinson on July 4, 1886, in which Roosevelt talked of his love for “big things.” 

Roosevelt came to North Dakota while mourning the deaths of his wife and mother, later returning to New York to begin his life in public service. 

“He came here broken. This place healed him, and it transformed him into the larger than life figure we are celebrating today,” Armstrong said. “It makes perfect sense to have this institution here in Medora because you cannot fully understand what this place did to Theodore Roosevelt until you stand in it.” 

The state of North Dakota is supporting the facility with a $50 million endowment passed by the Legislature in 2019. The endowment, now valued at more than $60 million, will help pay for ongoing operational costs of the library. 

Organizers set a $450 million fundraising goal for the library. 

Famed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin believes Theodore Roosevelt would have enjoyed inspiring new generations into public service through his presidential library, and he probably would have talked and argued with the library’s AI-version of himself.

Kearns Goodwin, a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation Board, gave a pair of lectures during opening events for benefactors Thursday and Friday. 

“I think mostly, he would be really happy to see that there’s an energy in the place that makes him come alive,” Kearns Goodwin said in an interview Friday. “What more would you want than the idea that other people are experiencing who you were in all of your fullness of personality?”

Greta and Harry Chapman drove up from Rapid City, South Dakota, to visit the library, their 26th visit to a presidential historic site. 

Greta Chapman said she was impressed by the library’s connection to the landscape. “That, I think, is fairly unique,” she said. 

She also said she was impressed by the exhibits pulling visitors through Roosevelt’s life and the interactive history elements. 

Fred and Julie Snelson from Cody, Wyoming, attended the opening of the library because they love history and the outdoors.

“It was just a really good reminder about how he was the original conservationist,” Julie Snelson said after touring the exhibits.

They said they loved how interactive the exhibits are and are eager to bring their grandchildren.

“And I think that’s important because, how do we engage the next generation in the history?” she said. “And they’ve done a really amazing job of it here.”

Dan Bram of Washington, D.C., said the library does an amazing job of putting context around some of Roosevelt’s famous speeches and stories, like arresting the boat stealers.

“Getting all of that in a campfire setting was just a really cool way to do it,” he said.

Ron Kelley of San Diego said he’s donated to the library and the opening was his fourth trip to Medora since 1997.

“I’m a big TR fan,” he said. 

He said he struggled to put his feelings into words after exiting the last exhibit hall.

“It’s exceptional,” Kelley said. “It’s bleeding edge with the technology, and the first room, that could’ve been something that you see at Disneyland.”

This story was updated to add reactions of people who toured the library.

Reach North Dakota Monitor deputy editor Jeff Beach at [email protected] and reporter Michael Achterling at [email protected].