About this property
The Elkhorn Ranch was established by Theodore Roosevelt on the banks of the Little Missouri River 35 miles north of Medora, North Dakota in the summer of 1884. Roosevelt hired Bill Sewall and Wilmot Dow, two Maine woodsmen, to run the ranch. Sewall and Dow built the ranch house, "a long, low house of logs," in the winter of 1884–1885. The Elkhorn Ranch was Theodore Roosevelt's "main ranch", and his preferred ranch house because it was larger and more private than his Maltese Cross Ranch cabin, established in 1883. Roosevelt particularly enjoyed sitting in the veranda in a rocking chair, reading in the shade of the cottonwood trees. His enjoyment is evident in his books, Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, and The Wilderness Hunter. In the spring of 1886, thieves stole Roosevelt's boat from the Elkhorn Ranch. Sewall and Dow hastily built a raft and all three set off downriver to catch the thieves. When they did, Roosevelt kept watch over the three thieves with a shotgun and marched them overland to Dickinson, North Dakota, where he collected a $50 reward. Roosevelt quit the ranch in 1887 after losing 60% of his stock in the starvation winter of 1886–87, and returned only a handful of times to the badlands after that. He kept a small share of the cattle until 1898 at the outset of the Spanish–American War. Theodore Roosevelt's writing desk from the Elkhorn Ranch is on display at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Elkhorn Ranch Site itself is protected as a unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Roosevelt's, Theodore, Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands listed on the National Register?
Roosevelt's, Theodore, Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 27, 2012.
What type of historic resource is Roosevelt's, Theodore, Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands?
Roosevelt's, Theodore, Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Roosevelt's, Theodore, Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands?
The period of significance for Roosevelt's, Theodore, Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1883.
Can I research the history near Roosevelt's, Theodore, Elkhorn Ranch and Greater Elkhorn Ranchlands?
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