Teddy Roosevelt was surrounded by wealth as a child. In 1880 at the young age of 22, he purchased the initial acreage of Sagamore Hill for $30,000 or roughly 1 million dollars in current dollars. Oyster Bay, NY on Long Island then as now, was a playground for the wealthy. Nassau County, the county in which Oyster Bay resides, is one of the top ten wealthiest counties in America. TR knew firsthand the pleasures of wealth, the responsibility of wealth, and the corruption of great wealth. Roosevelt was the ultimate speed reader. He would read at least a book per day and as many as 500 per year. He consumed knowledge. In all likelihood, he would have been aware of Gouverneur Morris's quote. TR famously coined the phrase "malefactors of great wealth." He believed in the capitalistic system but knew the dangers of unchecked monopolies. He believed the government should ensure great wealth was not destructive to the public interest. The journalistic muckrakers of the Gilded Age helped change public opinion about dramatic income inequality. Those muckrakers made possible the anti-trust legislation and worker protections which TR crusaded for.
Bronze eagle sculpture, hanging above painting, created by Gutzon Borglum
Although Sagamore Hill is a wealthy home, what strikes you most is not the expenditure of money but the depth of personality, interests, and family, which are apparent in every square inch of the home. There are 8,000 books which TR owned, read, and collected. Despite being one of the first natural conservationists, the home is filled with dead animal trophies. Memorabilia everywhere reflects his public service and his interaction with famous people from all over the world. You may peer into his study where he helped mediate the Russo-Japanese War and subsequently was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Likewise, you may peer into the bedrooms of his six children and imagine the chaos of such a large and dynamic family. You may even peer into the room where TR died. It is a special treat to walk where he walked and still feel TR's outsized personality. The artifacts in the home are arranged where they resided during the presidential years at Sagamore Hill. The artifacts are not period pieces, which might have been seen in a home like this. These items are real. They all belonged to the Roosevelts. It is a treasure to have them all in one place. This home is amazing and joyful.
Dinner Chimes
Sagamore Hill and the grounds were turned over to the National Park Service and established as a national historic site on July 25, 1962. We were extremely lucky to experience the inside of this treasure. Even though tours are led by dedicated, knowledgeable volunteers, Federal budget cuts have severely limited the number of tours offered. There are only 10 tours given per week only on Friday, Saturday, and Sundays. Tickets are only available online on the morning of the tour. The 11 tickets per tour literally sell out in seconds. This makes planning a visit next to impossible. Thousands of people are denied their quest for tickets. Our National Parks and Historic Sites deserve our care and attention. Budget cuts also defer critical maintenance. Hopefully a new batch of muckrakers will change public attention, so we more adequately fund things for the public good even if it is at the expense of tax breaks for owners of mega-yachts moored in Oyster Bay.
Next week we will take a hike down to TR's private beach, now a nature preserve.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
