A Visit to Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site is the family home of Theodore Roosevelt, former governor of New York and 26th president of the United States. Today you can tour the grounds and home where the former president lived with his family. The onsite museum provides an excellent overview of the president’s early life and political career, and the grounds are nice for a leisurely nature walk.

We recently visited Sagamore Hill as part of a day trip to Long Island. I am a big proponent of exploring your own backyard and was happy to finally make it out there. 

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Background 

From 1885 until his death in 1919, Theodore Roosevelt lived at Sagamore Hill with his wife and five children. During his years as president, the home functioned as the first “Summer Whitehouse,” with Roosevelt performing his duties of office from the library at the front of the house.

The home was designated a National Historic Site in 1962 and has been open to the public ever since.

Visiting Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

The site is small and will take you anywhere from 2 to 3 hours to see in all. The main attraction is the Roosevelt home. Tours are offered hourly and last approximately one hour. A limited number of tickets are available in advance online, or you can purchase tickets at the Visitor Center in Orchard House.

The Visitor Center also contains a museum documenting the life and accomplishments of Theodore Roosevelt. His legacy is quite impressive, and fittingly includes the establishment of the National Park Service. Roosevelt is also credited with establishing many of the first antitrust laws, which prevent companies from colluding on and fixing prices.

If you have time and the weather is nice, take a short walk through the woods behind the house. The trail will take you to Cold Spring Harbor and the beach where the Roosevelt family used to swim and boat at.

Inside the Sagamore Hill House

The hour-long house tour will take you throughout the three levels of the home. The lower level contains the library where Roosevelt worked during the summer months of his presidency, the family’s dining and recreation rooms, and the kitchen. On the second and third floors, you’ll see servant and family bedrooms.

Roosevelt was an enthusiastic naturalist and his home reflects this passion. The walls are adorned with busts of bison, elk, and deer, and skins from leopards and polar bears cover the floors. As a major patron of the Natural History Museum in New York City, Roosevelt supplied the majority of their Africa collection through his hunting safaris.

The highlight of the house tour is the main family room. This room was added later to expand the home and was where the family congregated to socialize, play games, and square dance. The decorations in this room are what make it really spectacular though. Inside you will see trophies from Roosevelt’s safaris, including a set of elephant tusks and a rhinoceros foot turned umbrella holder. 

The room also contains an eclectic assortment of art from around the world. You could spend hours in the room and still find new things to look at! Our guide was a well of knowledge about the Roosevelt family and the items in the home and was able to answer any questions we had about particular artifacts.

The two upper floors contain the bedrooms of the Roosevelt family and their servants. The female household servants lived on the top floor, while the family lived on the second floor. My favorite bedroom was the nursery. I loved seeing the old crib and comparing it to the crib we have for my son. In general, I love seeing toys and items from a century ago and how they differ (or compare) to the ones we have today.

The Museum at Sagamore Hill

After the house tour we returned to the Visitor’s Center to see the museum. The small museum has only three rooms, but the exhibit is a comprehensive overview of Roosevelt’s life and political accomplishments.

Did you know?

1. Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City in 1858 and died in Oyster Bay (in the house at Sagamore Hill) in 1919 at the age of 60.
2. He served as governor of New York, Vice President of the United States, and President of the United States.
3. Roosevelt’s mother and first wife died on the same day, in the same house, in 1884.
4. In 1906 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese war. He was the first American to receive the award.
5. There was an attempt to assassinate Roosevelt while he was on the campaign trail, but the speech in his breast pocket was so thick that it slowed the bullet down enough to prevent his death. Only after he finished his speech did he acquiesce and go to the hospital.

The Grounds of Sagamore Hill

Once you’ve toured the house and seen the museum, consider taking a walk around the grounds. Behind the Visitor Center is a woodland trail leading to Cold Spring Harbor. From the trail, cross the boardwalk to reach a pebbled beach strewn with seashells. This beach was once the private beach for the Roosevelt family where they would swim and boat during the summer months.

Retrace your steps to return to the trail and complete the 0.7-mile loop back to the Visitor Center. The trail is an easy walk and well maintained, although it gets muddy and slippery after rain.

In and Around Sagamore Hill

If you want to make a day of your visit to Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, consider adding these nearby attractions to your itinerary.

Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary

The first Audubon songbird sanctuary and home to 15 non-releasable raptors. The sanctuary is a great place to come and learn about birds and nature and has an ever-revolving list of family activities. It is also located right next to Youngs Memorial Cemetery, where you can visit the grave of Theodore Roosevelt.

Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium

The former home to one of America’s wealthiest families boasts a mansion, marine museum, and planetarium! The mansion is only accessible by tour (lasting approximately 45 minutes to an hour). The planetarium has shows every hour, and the show changes seasonally.

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium

Tour the two aquarium buildings and eight outdoor ponds while learning about local freshwater fish, reptiles, and amphibians. At this family friendly hatchery visitors can feed trout and even participate in catch and release fishing.

The Whaling Museum and Education Center

Learn about the history of whaling in the Long Island region. The small museum houses over 6,000 artifacts, including a fully equipped whaling boat!

The Heckscher Museum of Art

This art museum centers around the works of American and European artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The museum also has exhibits of local Long Island artists.

Final Thoughts

It’s always a joy to discover new places in your own backyard. Sagamore Hill National Historic Site is just a 40-minute drive from New York City, and I can’t believe it took me years to make a trip out! In addition to learning a lot about Theodore Roosevelt, the visit also brought my attention to all the exciting things to see and do in the Oyster Bay area. I’m looking forward to a follow-up trip, and maybe even a weekend getaway to the region. From natural beauty and history to art and science, there’s much to see and do in this little enclave of Long Island.