MEDORA – Local, state and federal officials praised the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora for bringing Roosevelt’s impactful legacy to life for current and future generations of Americans. The grand opening of the facility was held Saturday, July 4.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong quoted the Independence Day remarks delivered by a 27-year-old Roosevelt in 1886 in the governor’s hometown of Dickinson, in which Roosevelt expressed his affinity for “big prairies, big forests and mountains, big wheat fields, railroads, and herds of cattle, too,” among other things. Roosevelt said, “we must keep steadily in mind that no people were ever yet benefited by riches if their prosperity corrupted their virtue.”

“The values T.R. carried away from these Badlands — hard work, conservation, and active citizenship — these are not historical artifacts. They are North Dakota values,” Armstrong said. “And they are exactly the values this library will showcase to the world.”

The 96,000-square-foot library will be open year-round, with interactive exhibits offering an immersive experience for citizens young and old, from North Dakota and beyond.

“If this was just a library built in remembrance of our 26th president, that would be enough. But it is so much more than that,” Armstrong said. “With this grand opening today, we honor the spirit of one of the most consequential figures in the 250-year history as the greatest country in the history of the world. The spirit of resilience, honesty, bravery. The spirit of big dreams and big ideas, and the perseverance to do the hard work required to turn them into reality.”

Armstrong and Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden were among many who celebrated the grand opening.

“Now, people from all over the world can come to this exact place, stand where T.R. stood, and feel – not just understand, but feel – how it changed him,” Armstrong said. “That’s what this library makes possible. And North Dakota is genuinely proud to offer it to the world.”

“Today, we not only celebrate 250 years of American history, reflecting on the blessings and freedoms we enjoy as citizens of this great nation, but we also take time to honor Teddy Roosevelt, one of our most iconic Presidents. As North Dakotans, we should feel immense pride in the important role our state played in shaping his character, helping him overcome great loss and charting his course in life. It is fitting then that our state is now home to both a national park and a presidential library that bear his name,” U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, said.

“Accomplishments like this don’t just happen. We’ve been hard at work to make this library a reality, and we appreciate the efforts of everyone involved. Your support was vital as we worked to secure this 93-acre site for the library, which required both reaching agreement with our grazers and other local stakeholders and passing my legislation to make this former Forest Service land available for purchase. We also have secured authorization in appropriations legislation to make artifacts available to the library, and we’re now advancing a bill to supply those materials on a permanent basis while also providing matching funds for the library, like Congress did for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. That bill has passed the Senate, and we continue working to move it through the House as well.”