Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

#howitstarted #howitisgoing #Fall is #trending here at Sagamore Hill. Come enjoy the grounds and remember to #RecreateResponsibly. To learn more about recreating responsibly in the National Parks visit: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/recreate-responsibly.htm... Photos: Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) summer and fall foliage. NPS #findyourpark #sagamorehill #nationalparkservice #theodoreroosevelt #sugarmaple #fallfoliage

In honor of the spooky season, we at Sagamore Hill wanted to take a moment to talk with you about the Roosevelt family’s pet cemetery. Don't worry, it’s not that type of pet cemetery.... at least not that we know of... #findyourpark #SagamoreHill #NationalParkService #TheodoreRoosevelt #EdithRoosevelt #Pets #PetCemetery #SpookySeason

Ranger Tyler from Sagamore Hill National Historic Site introduces today’s #writeout writing prompt. Tyler challenges writers of all ages to write an argument about the need for protected public spaces. What do you think could have happened to these lands if conservationists didn’t work so hard to protect them? Check out his video here: https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm We encourage you to reflect, write, and share! Share here in the comments, or create your own post u...sing #writeout Interested in learning more about Write Out and accessing other great resources? Visit https://writeout.nwp.org/. #writeout #writeweirfarm #nationalwritingproject #nationalparkservice #findyourpark #findyourvirtualpark #nps #campfirestories #sagamorehillnhs #sagamorehill

Teachers! Our virtual field trip lesson plan is now available! Sagamore Hill National Historic Site and the National Park Service are proud to offer a new virtual field trip lesson to educators and their students. The lesson makes use of a virtual tour and allows students from all over the country to experience a National Historic Site from their own devices, while sparking their curiosity about Theodore Roosevelt and national parks. The virtual field trip is aligned with Com...mon Core standards and asks students to make personal connections to the Roosevelt family and the period in which they lived using primary sources including a 360 virtual reality tour of the Roosevelt home and historic photo galleries. The field trip is geared towards students in grades 4-8, but can be easily modified for high school students. Questions about how to incorporate the lesson in your class? Want to invite a park ranger to your class as a virtual guest speaker? Email us at [email protected]. Teachers can also visit our website for more classroom resources including Roosevelt family biographies, park films, and photo galleries.

Where do you go when you need a break? Edith Roosevelt would spend time in her respite on the grounds of Sagamore Hill. Watch the video below to learn more about Edith’s many responsibilities and what she did when she needed a break. Video: NPS/LaRochelle... #findyourpark #sagamorehill #edithroosevelt #firstlady #theodoreroosevelt #nationalparkservice #respite #read #children #nature #garden #hiddenplaces

It’s a beautiful day to walk the grounds of Sagamore Hill! Remember to #recreateresponsibly while visiting! Pack it in and pack it out: Brought something in? It’s your responsibility to take it out. Trash pickup will continue to be limited; as always, follow the leave no trace rule.... Be a BARK Ranger: Bag your dog’s waste. Always remain on leash. Respect wildlife. Know where you can go. Pay attention to signs signaling unsafe areas and flora and fauna preserves. Together, we can all do our part in being stewards of Sagamore Hill and our public lands. To learn more about recreating responsibly in the National Parks visit: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/recreate-responsibly.htm Photos: A ranger stands near a tent. NPS/Brierly The Wonderbook of Nature Junior Ranger activity book. NPS/Brierly #findyourpark #sagamorehill #theodoreroosevelt #ranger

Feeling a bit crabby this Monday? But did you know that horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs? Horseshoe crabs are arthropods and are known as living fossils because they have been around for over 350 million years (yes, that is before dinosaurs!). Yet, in that long span of time, horseshoe crabs have exhibited few evolutionary differences. Horseshoe crabs are called horseshoe crabs because their shell resembles a hor...seshoe. The three parts of the horseshoe crab are the prosoma or head, opisthosoma or central area, and telson or tail. Though it looks scary, their spiny tail is harmless and allows them to flip themselves over in case the surf turns them on their back. It is important to never touch their tail as it could cause them harm. They also have multiple sets of eyes that can either see the moon’s ultraviolet light, magnify the sun’s light by ten times, or are found under their tail. Additionally, horseshoe crabs have gills and as long as they stay moist, the they can live out of the water for up to four days. This is important during spawning season. Female horseshoe crabs lay about 90,000 eggs in the sand per year, typically in the spring, but only a small percentage live into adulthood. However, their eggs are important sources of food for migrating shorebirds. Fertilized horseshoe crabs take about a month before they hatch and will move from the sand into the water during high tide times. Young horseshoe crabs stay near the shoreline but adults will move into deep waters until it is time to spawn in spring and early summer. Horseshoe crabs can live up to twenty years and will molt six times in their first year, and another eighteen times before they reach maturity at the age of nine and never molt again. You will often find these molten shells washed up on the beach. Horseshoe crabs are also important to medical research. Horseshoe crabs produce a clotting agent called Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL). When LAL is exposed to bacterial toxins, it will clot. This has been used in the medical field to test the sterility of various drugs and vaccines for many years. The best part is that LAL can be extracted from the horseshoe crab without harming it. Sagamore Hill’s beach is a protected area because it is home to various flora and fauna. This is why swimming and dogs in the water are not allowed. National Parks are home to many creatures and it is important to protect their homes. Remember to leave no trace; take only photographs and leave only footprints! To learn more about how to #recreateresponsibly in the National Parks visit: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/recreate-responsibly.htm #findyourpark #sagamorehill #theodoreroosevelt #horseshoecrab #beach #longisland #oysterbay #anthropod #nationalparkservice Photos: A horseshoe crab in the surf at the Sagamore Hill beach. NPS/Clifford

#OTD in 1913, Theodore Roosevelt leaves for Brazil. Did you know the original trip to South America was intended to be a speaking tour? Roosevelt was initially contacted by an Argentinean social museum who offered him a large sum of money to give three lectures in their country. Ever the naturalist, Roosevelt also felt that there could be a scientific purpose to this trip so he contacted the Museum of Natural History. With their financial backing and connections, Roosevelt ...Continue reading

Happy #InternationalCoffeeDay! Today, we celebrate the farmers whose hard work makes having that ritual cup of coffee possible. One person who certainly appreciated a good cup of coffee was #TheodoreRoosevelt. It’s well known that TR had a seemingly endless source of energy. He would often read one to two books a day, follow rigorous exercise routines, and during his lifetime it is estimated he wrote over 150,000 letters! So how did he accomplish all this?... Well one answer is: His own personal drive to get things done, and coffee. A lot of coffee. TR would consume about one gallon of coffee per day, adding up to seven lumps of sugar into his caffeinated drink! TR was so particular in the way he liked his coffee that his wife Edith gifted him his own personal coffee set. That way if he didn’t like the way it had been prepared, he had no one to blame but himself. Ted JR., TR’s oldest son, recalled in his memoir that this gifted coffee mug, was so large it was more in the nature of a bathtub. Coffee was such a large part of the Roosevelt’s life that in November 1919, Ted JR, Kermit, Archie, Ethel, and their cousin Philip, along with Ethel’s husband Richard Derby, opened their own coffee shop, Double R Coffee House in Manhattan. Here, according to Philip, the group wanted to provide a place for people to come, where they can talk, write letters, eat sandwiches and cake, and above all, drink real coffee. What’s your favorite way to enjoy a cup of coffee? #InternationalCoffeeDay #coffee #TheodoreRoosevelt #SagamoreHill #findyourpark Photo 1: Theodore Roosevelt’s extra large coffee mug from the New York City Harvard Club NPS/Sagamore Hill Photo 2: A silver coffee pot that had been gifted to Theodore and Edith Roosevelt for their 25th Wedding anniversary NPS/Sagamore Hill Photo 3: A colorful cartoon postcard advertisement for Double R Coffee House NPS/Sagamore Hill Photo 4: A menu from Double R Coffee House NPS/Sagamore Hill

Every year on the last Sunday of September we honor National Mother’s and Family’s Gold Star day. This day serves to honor military families whose loved one made the ultimate sacrifice by dying for the nation. Starting in World War I, American families who had loved ones serving in the Armed Forces would display a service flag. Designed by U.S. Army Captain Robert L. Queisser of the Fifth Ohio Infantry, they have a white background with a red border, and a blue star for ea...ch family member serving. The flag would be displayed prominently in the family’s window for everyone to see. If a loved one died in the line of duty, a gold star would be placed over the flag’s blue star to honor their ultimate sacrifice. This also allowed everyone in the community the ability to see the price that that family had paid while serving their country. All four of Theodore and Edith Roosevelt’s sons fought during World War I, and they proudly displayed this Badge of Honor service flag at their Sagamore Hill home. On July 14th, 1918, the Roosevelt family received the Gold Star honor when their youngest son Quentin Roosevelt's plane was shot down by a German Fokker plane over the Marne River in France. Although believed to be missing in action, it was confirmed that Quentin had made the ultimate sacrifice on July 27th. Edith was then presented with the Women's National Honor medal in 1918. It was given to her the Gold Star Mothers, a group of mothers who had also lost loved ones in the line of duty. Today, families of those serving in the armed forces continue using service flags with blue and gold stars to honor their loved ones fighting for the nation. Photo 1: Edith Roosevelt’s Women’s National Honor medal. NPS/Sagamore Hill Photo 2: Political cartoon by John T. McCutcheon showing a blue star being changed to gold on the Roosevelt’s service flag in honor of Quentin. NPS/Sagamore Hill Archives Photo 3: Quentin Roosevelt standing in a long leather jacket next to his airplane during WWI. NPS/SagamoreHill Archives Photo 4: A Roosevelt family portrait done during WWI with grandchild Richard Derby Jr. holding the family’s service flag. NPS/Sagamore Hill Archives #findyourpark #sagamorehill #TheodoreRoosevelt #quentinroosevelt #edithroosevelt #goldstarfamilies

There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value. - Speech by Theodore Roosevelt in Osawatomie, Kansas, August 31, 1910. It’s National Public Lands Day!... National Public Lands Day celebrates the connection between people and the environment and inspires environmental stewardship in the community. It also encourages the use of open spaces for education, recreation, and health benefits. Though National Public Lands Day looks different this year, every one of us has a part in keeping our spaces natural and beautiful. The best way is to #recreateresponsibly! Remember to: Pack it in and pack it out: Brought something in? It’s your responsibility to take it out. Trash pickup will continue to be limited; as always, follow the leave no trace rule. Be a BARK Ranger: Bag your dog’s waste. Always remain on leash. Respect wildlife. Know where you can go. Pay attention to signs signaling unsafe areas and flora and fauna preserves. Together, we can all do our part in being stewards of Sagamore Hill and our public lands. To learn more about recreating responsibly in the National Parks visit: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/recreate-responsibly.htm Photo: National Public Lands Day graphic. NPS #findyourpark #npld #NationalPublicLandsDay #sagamorehill #theodoreroosevelt #publiclands

Sagamore Hill is always in #style. Jumping into the #trend, Sagamore Hill offers a gorgeous variety of colors throughout the grounds, including the buildings. Did you know that the house had been repainted multiple times and at one point was green and yellow? But no matter what color it is, Sagamore Hill is always beautiful! Photo: Sagamore Hill with a palette of colors below it. NPS/Sagamore Hill... #NPSFW #NPSColorForecasting #NYFW #findyourpark #sagamorehill #TheodoreRoosevelt

#26 On this day in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th President of the United States. While Roosevelt may have been an accidental president, his vice presidency was no accident. Though he was involved in politics since 1881, and held a variety of political positions including New York State Assembly from 1881-1884, United States Civil Service Commissioner from 1889-95, Police Commissioner of New York City from 1895-97, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1...897-98, Roosevelt’s popularity did not explode until after his return from the Spanish American War in 1898. Having been considered a hero during the United States’ victory in the war against Spain, Roosevelt ran for and was elected Governor of New York serving from 1899 to 1900. Yet, not everyone was excited about Roosevelt’s status and current position. In an attempt to rid themselves of Roosevelt and his progressive and reform policies, Republican party bosses in New York suggested that Theodore replace Garrett Hobart as President William McKinley’s running mate in the presidential election of 1900. At the time, being vice president was considered a dead-end position for politicians and could effectively end their political aspirations. While most GOP bosses enjoyed the idea, Mark Hanna warned, there’s only one life between that madman and the Presidency. Roosevelt accepted the vice presidency, and Hanna accepted fate. On September 6, 1901, President McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz and died eight days later on September 14. Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as president that afternoon in Buffalo, New York. Yet, today, Theodore Roosevelt is one of the best-known presidents for his many achievements. From the Square Deal, to the Panama Canal, to the Great White Fleet, to moderating the end of the Russo-Japanese War, to having protected 230 million acres of land in eight years, Roosevelt’s successes lend him to being one of the most popular and well received presidents in United States history. #findyourpark #TheodoreRoosevelt #sagamorehill #26thpresident #oysterbayny #buffalony #WilliamMcKinley #president Photo: Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. LOC