Aerial view of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, N.D., on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library)
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library near Medora will open July 4th, 2026, coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary, with all living presidents invited. The nearly 100,000 sq. ft. facility sits atop a butte across from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which had over 732,000 visitors last year. Foundation CEO Ed O’Keefe tells JACK DURA for the Associated Press that the library has raised $344 million of its $450 million goal and will “humanize, not lionize” Roosevelt, addressing controversies alongside his achievements. Scholar Clay Jenkinson calls the remote location a “calculated risk,” but believes the Badlands’ beauty will attract visitors from Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, and beyond. The library features rammed-earth walls of layered colors, purposefully reflecting the dramatic landscape, and a roof planted with native grasses where Roosevelt found renewal after personal tragedy.
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