Roosevelt in Medora
A self-guided tour of the places in and around Medora that remember Theodore Roosevelt, compiled by Glenn Gullickson, the Library’s first volunteer.
Medora from Theodore Roosevelt National Park. (Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Theodore Roosevelt first came to Dakota Territory in September 1883 to hunt bison. Before he left, he had bought into a cattle ranch. On February 14, 1884, his mother and his wife died in the same New York City house, hours apart. Roosevelt came back west to grieve, started a second ranch, the Elkhorn, and stayed in the cattle business until the hard winter of 1886–87 killed much of his herd. He became the 26th President of the United States in 1901 and served until 1909.
I never would have been President if it had not been for my experience in North Dakota.
In and around Medora
Most of these stops sit within a few blocks of downtown. Tap a pin for details.
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
3410 Chateau Road, just west of town
Start here. Galleries follow Roosevelt from a sickly boy in New York to the presidency and beyond, and a narrative gallery holds original artifacts. The building is set into the butte: walk across its planted roof, then follow the accessible boardwalk out to views of the Badlands.
Chateau de Mores State Historic Site
3426 Chateau Road
The Marquis de Morès founded Medora in 1883 and named it for his wife. He and Roosevelt were Badlands neighbors. The family’s 26-room summer home still holds many of its original furnishings.
The Chateau de Mores, built in 1883, overlooks Medora from the bluff west of town.
The Burning Hills Amphitheatre, carved into the hillside in 1958.
Burning Hills Amphitheatre
The Medora Musical, a patriotic country-western variety show, plays here each summer and celebrates Roosevelt along the way.
Rough Riders Hotel
301 Third Avenue
The hotel opened in 1884 as the Metropolitan and was later renamed for Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. The lobby keeps a library of books by and about him, and a bust of T.R. sits on the fireplace mantel in Theodore’s, the hotel dining room.
The Rough Riders Hotel, Medora. (Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame on Main Street, Medora.
North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame
250 Main Street
Roosevelt was inducted in 1999 as a Great Westerner.
Old Town Hall Theater
275 Broadway
A bronze of T.R. in his Rough Rider uniform, by South Dakota sculptor John Lopez, stands out front.
The Old Town Hall Theater, a 220-seat house in downtown Medora.
The Teddy Roosevelt Show at the Town Square Showhall.
Town Square Showhall
Each summer, Joe Wiegand and Kurt Skinner bring Roosevelt to life in The Teddy Roosevelt Show, served with brunch or dinner.
Von Hoffman House
Broadway and Fifth Street
Built in the 1880s for Medora’s parents, Baron and Mrs. von Hoffman. Original and period furnishings fill the house, and an upstairs gallery displays Roosevelt correspondence.
The Von Hoffman House on Broadway, Medora.
Joe Ferris’s 1885 store building, now the Ferris Inn and Joe Ferris General Store. (Courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation)
Joe Ferris Store
251 Main Street
Joe Ferris, Roosevelt’s friend and first guide in the Badlands, built this two-story store in 1885. Roosevelt kept a room upstairs for his visits to town. Today it is the Ferris Inn.
Inside Western Edge Books, Artwork & Music in Medora. (Courtesy of the Medora Convention & Visitors Bureau)
Western Edge Books, Art & Music
425 Fourth Street
Shelves of books by and about Roosevelt.
A talk under the tent at the Badlands Chautauqua in Medora. (Courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation)
Badlands Chautauqua
Each July, Roosevelt scholars and interpreters gather in Medora for a weekend of talks and performances.
Beyond Medora
Day trips into the park, to the Elkhorn Ranch and to Dickinson.
Theodore Roosevelt's Maltese Cross Cabin behind the South Unit Visitor Center.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
South Unit entrance in Medora
The only national park named for a person, with a scenic drive, hiking trails and camping. Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Cabin, built for him in 1883–84 on his first ranch about seven miles south of town, now stands behind the South Unit Visitor Center, where the museum displays T.R. artifacts. Rangers sometimes give talks at the cabin. The park’s North Unit lies near Watford City.
Painted Canyon Overlook
East of Medora on Interstate 94
One of the widest views across the park’s Badlands.
The rugged expanse seen from Painted Canyon overlook is the kind of country that inspired a national park bearing Roosevelt’s name. (Wikimedia Commons)
The Elkhorn Ranch site today, where none of the ranch buildings still stand.
Elkhorn Ranch
About 35 miles north of Medora
The site of Roosevelt’s home ranch on the Little Missouri River is often called the Cradle of Conservation. Only foundation stones remain, at the end of a 0.7-mile mowed path. The last miles of road may need a high-clearance vehicle, and there are no services or cell signal, so check the route and conditions at the South Unit Visitor Center before you go.
Dickinson
35 miles east of Medora
On Independence Day 1886, Roosevelt was orator of the day at Dickinson’s first Fourth of July celebration. A bronze of the young rancher by Tom Bollinger stands in front of the Stark County Courthouse, 51 Third Street East.
On the Dickinson State University campus, the Theodore Roosevelt Center in Lowman Walton Hall has an exhibit gallery, a reading room and a research library, and is home to the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Admission is free.
The statue of young Theodore Roosevelt outside the Stark County Courthouse, Dickinson. (jimmywayne, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, via Flickr)
The Library's Medora field office in 2021, before construction was complete. (Jonathan Schilling, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
About this tour
Glenn Gullickson compiled this tour. He was the Library’s first volunteer and staffed its Medora field office before and during construction.