Sagamore Hill National Historic Site: Cultural Landscape Report - Volume 1, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, National Park Service

Bellavia, Regina; Curry, George

Cultural Landscape Report for Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Volume 1: Site History, Exisiting Conditions, and Analysis. When Theodore Roosevelt built his home in Oyster Bay, New York, the countryside around the quiet village was full of farms, pastures, open fields, and woodlands. The view from the top of Sagamore Hill revealed that the property was bordered on three sides by water: Oyster Bay, Long Island Sound, and Cold Spring Harbor. Sagamore Hill was a working farm with cows, hogs, horses, and chickens; wheat and rye fields; an apple orchard; and a three-acre vegetable and fruit garden. Roosevelt and his family hiked through the fields and the woods, went rowing on the bay, rode horses and ponies, ran relay races through the barn, and picnicked on the beach. During Roosevelt’s term as 26th U.S. President, Sagamore Hill served as the “Summer White House” and was the site of meetings and state visits. Its greater significance is as the home of Theodore Roosevelt and the center of his family’s life. It was, as one friend described it, “the family sanctuary.” In 1919 Theodore’s wife, Edith Roosevelt, wrote to her son Ted Jr. and reported that on the afternoon before his death, she found his father looking out the window at the snow. He turned to her and asked, “I wonder if you know how I love Sagamore Hill.” The landscape’s period of significance is identified as 1880-1919, corresponding with the time that Theodore Roosevelt was associated with the site. It continues to be important for its connections to Roosevelt and his political and family life, as well as for its illustration of the Queen Anne style of architecture. A Cultural Landscape Report is intended to provide site managers with a comprehensive detailed history of the landscape and its character-defining features, a comparison of the historic landscape and the present landscape, and recommendations for future planning decisions. The goal of this report is to serve as a management tool, thereby assisting the National Park Service in fully convey the quality of life that Theodore Roosevelt and his family enjoyed at their home at Sagamore Hill, as well as preserving the historic qualities of the cultural landscape and the surrounding natural environment. Many previous studies have been completed to guide the management administration of Sagamore Hill as a National Historic Site, and these have served as background material for this report. In 1987 Sagamore Hill staff identified the need for a General Management Plan (GMP) which would address improvements in the management and interpretation of the site. Two major concerns were expressed by the staff. First was the need to document the cultural and natural resources located within the site boundaries and to provide guidance for their preservation and development. Second was the need to analyze and reorganize visitor services and orientation. Although the General Management Plan has not yet been prepared, the need for it still exists. This Cultural Landscape Report will contribute substantially, when the GMP is undertaken, to long term strategies and planning for the site. Three different methodologies were used in this project. Extensive research of written, graphic, and photographic resources was conducted to provide a complete historical record of the site; a field survey was completed to document the existing conditions; and a comparative study of the significant period and existing conditions was completed to record the level of integrity of the landscape. Before the primary research of written, graphic, and photographic resources began, the definitions of “cultural landscape” and character-defining features” were explored. A list of character-defining landscape features and their definitions also was developed. This list created an organizational framework that allowed for consistency when discussing the major elements that define landscape character.

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site: Cultural Landscape Report - Volume 1, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, National Park Service

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