Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill Reopens After Renovation

After an extensive three-and-a-half-year renovation, Theodore Roosevelt’s historic Sagamore Hill home in Cove Neck, New York, reopened this week. As part of the update, more than 12,000 of the former president’s personal possessions were refurbished and displayed.

The $10 million restoration included many infrastructural updates, like replacing the roof, installing a new air shaft and boilers, redoing the electrical wiring, and revamping the security system. The 23-room home’s original furnishings, including numerous animal-skin rugs, taxidermied creatures, hunting trophies, and a rhino-foot inkwell, were carefully preserved. Roosevelt’s collection of some 8,000 books was dusted; the wallpaper, which was chosen by First Lady Edith Roosevelt, was restored; and the former president’s old Rough Rider hat was cleaned and returned to the prominent spot in the house where he kept it years ago.

The residence, which sits on a sprawling 83-acre property about 35 miles east of Manhattan, remained in the Roosevelt family from the time it was built in 1886 until the 1950s. It is now managed by the National Park Service, which celebrated the reopening with a 25-piece band, pony rides, cavalry demonstrations, and remarks from several of Theodore Roosevelt's descendants.

Sagamore Hill is located at 20 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, New York; tickets to visit the home are $10. For more information visit nps.gov/sahi. *