Land obtained for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Photo by: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library - Facebook
Photo by: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library - Facebook

(Medora, ND) -- Organizers for the planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library near Medora say land has been obtained for the project.

The library's foundation said Monday that just over 90 acres of U.S. Forest Service land near the Medora Musical's Burning Hill Amphitheatre has been sold for the project.

“North Dakotans have ensured a legacy not just for their state but also for our nation and the world,” said Theodore Roosevelt V, a great-great-grandson and namesake of the 26th president. “I am pleased the Roosevelt family was able to purchase the land for the T.R. Library, honoring the life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, and helping advance the ambitious vision of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.” 

Congress originally approved the land sale in 2020, but the deal went through a lengthy appraisal process. Roosevelt's family paid the 81-thousand dollar cost for the land.

“The mission of the U.S. Forest Service to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of the present and future generations, remains unchanged since its founding by Theodore Roosevelt in 1905,” said Misty Hays, Medora District Ranger at the USDA Forest Service. “It is good to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library plans to incorporate key aspects of that mission.” 

“139 years after Theodore Roosevelt first came to Medora the Roosevelts are back in North Dakota,” said Edward F. O’Keefe, Chief Executive Officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. O’Keefe announced that an ambitious habitat and native species restoration project has begun on the landscape. 

Roosevelt ranched and hunted in the Medora Badlands in the 1880s.