Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Symposium Attendees Ted-Set on Plans for Roosevelt Library in Dickinson

Louise W. Knight got her hands dirty Saturday morning.

The author and historian from Evanston, Ill., who is in Dickinson as a speaker at the Theodore Roosevelt Symposium, tore into the bark of cottonwood trees at the behest of Roosevelt scholar and symposium leader Clay Jenkinson.

As Jenkinson spoke about the process for how the trees will soon be used to build a replica of Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch cabin, Knight wrapped her hands around the bark and started to pull. In all, she tore off about 10 feet of bark from a cottonwood sitting at the site of the proposed Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

“The most fun work is where you see the results right away, and this is that kind of work,” Knight said with a smile.

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Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library once-in-generation opportunity for North Dakota

You can visit the George W. Bush Presidential Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. It only costs $7 to get into both the Bill Clinton library in Little Rock, Ark., and the Gerald Ford library in Ann Arbor, Mich.

These presidents each had their faults, yet they still have libraries to honor them and serve as historical research sites.

Somehow, Theodore Roosevelt — a man whose face is on Mount Rushmore and is considered one of our greatest leaders — is among the American presidents without a library.

The North Dakota Legislature has tasked Dickinson State University with changing that.

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A place for Teddy: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library plans taking shape

Dickinson could one day be home to a library for one of the most revered presidents in American history.

Dickinson State University and one of the country’s top museum planning firms, at the behest of the North Dakota Legislature, are in the early stages of designing a concept for a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library to be built in the city — likely on the university’s campus. Planners envision a facility that would be as nationally renowned as any other presidential library.

“I think this is huge for all of North Dakota,” DSU President D.C. Coston said. “A presidential library — as it’s been discussed here — has huge national and, in many cases, international impact.”

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