Theodore Roosevelt Monument Assemblage

Last updated February 28, 2019

The Theodore Roosevelt Monument Assemblage is a collection of 24 stones and plaque located in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay, New York. The stones and other objects are meant to each represent a "chapter" and together form a "book" telling the story of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States.

Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park is a park in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, New York, honoring President Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States.

The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three towns which make up Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is the only town in Nassau County to extend from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 293,214.

Inscription from plaque, 1991

The full text of the plaque from the 1991 rededication follows, with description of the monument as a whole and individual objects and stones:

ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL ROCKS
The Book of Theodore Roosevelt's Life Written in Rocks
Chapter 1. Born Oct. 27, 1858. Brick from 28 E 20 NYC Where Roosevelt was born. Presented by Women's Roosevelt Memorial Assn.
Chapter 2. Regaining his health granite step from house at Moosehead Lake, Maine, where young Roosevelt regained his health.
Moosehead Lake is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine and the largest mountain lake in the eastern United States. Situated in the Longfellow Mountains in the Maine Highlands Region, the lake is the source of the Kennebec River. Towns that border the lake include Greenville to the south and Rockwood to the northwest. There are over 80 islands in the lake, the largest being Sugar Island.
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.
Chapter 3. From Cambridge, Mass. Theodore Roosevelt's four years of college life. Presented by Harvard College.
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and part of the Boston metropolitan area.
Harvard College is the undergraduate liberal arts college of Harvard University. Founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world.
Chapter 4. Baptismal in politics slate from Morton Hall, NYC. 21st District Republican Assembly Hall. Presented by family of Joe Murray.
Chapter 5. Assemblyman stone from Albany where Roosevelt entered government. Presented by City of Albany.
Albany is the capital of the U.S. state of New York and the seat of Albany County. Albany is located on the west bank of the Hudson River approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of its confluence with the Mohawk River and approximately 135 miles (220 km) north of New York City.
Chapter 6. Theodore Roosevelt in cowboy land. Boulder from Elkhorn Ranch, North Dakota. Presented February 1924 by Village of Medora.
Chapter 7. Civil Service commissioner of NYC stone from Roosevelt House. Presented by Police Captain Edward J. Bourke.
Chapter 8. Police Commissioner of NYC brick from Mulberry Street Station where Roosevelt made history. Presented by Mrs. Jacob Riis.
Chapter 9. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Boulder from Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. Presented by the city.
Chapter 10. Rough Riders to Victory boulder from San Juan Hill. Presented by J. Louis Shaefer.
Chapter 11. Governor of New York State stone from Camp Black in Montauk Point where he agreed to run for governor. Presented by the Town of North Hempstead.
Chapter 12. Reconstruction of the barge canals boulder from the Erie Canal in Herkimer. Presented by NY State Engineers office.
Chapter 13. Home of Theodore Roosevelt boulder from Sagamore Hill. Presented by Mrs. Edith Roosevelt.
Chapter 14. Vice President of the United States stone from the Philadelphia home where he was nominated Vice President. Presented by the city.
Chapter 15. From the Adirondacks where Theodore Roosevelt was when he became President of the United States. Presented August 1921 by P. Thure Brorstrom.
Chapter 16. Oath of office 1901 stone from Wilcox House, Buffalo, where he took the oath of office. Presented by James W. Dowsey.
Chapter 17. From Roosevelt Dam, Arizona. President Roosevelt preservation of the natural resources of the nation. Presented by City of Roosevelt, Arizona.
Chapter 18. The big coal strike piece of coal from the Pennsylvania anthracite mines where he conquered the strike. Presented by Gov. Gifford Pinchot.
Chapter 19. Greatest acquirement boulder from Culebra Cut Panama Canal. Presented by Mrs. Lillius Grace.
Chapter 20. Russo-Japanese War boulder from Portsmouth, N.H., where he settled the war. Presented by city.
Chapter 21. A native rock Theodore Roosevelt in his big stick and square deal. Presented August 1923 by city.
Chapter 22. Battle fleet round world 7 inch shell from US Navy, for his biggest peace move. Presented by M. B. Brorstrom.
Chapter 23. Author and man bronze book representing the life of Theodore Roosevelt as author of 31 books. Presented by Mrs. Lillian Tatters Bussenius.
Chapter 24. Died January 6th 1919. 60 years, 2 months and 9 days.
Dedicated in Great Neck June 10, 1922
Rededicated when moved to Oyster Bay Oct. 25, 1947
Rededicated with this plaque June 23, 1991

While plaques for several individual stones in the monument are missing (8, 4, 18, 5, 1, 23, 16, 20, 17), text from remaining plaques follows:

Chapter 2. Step from house in Maine where young Roosevelt regained his health. Presented Feb. 1923 by W.W. Sewall.
Chapter 7. From New York City Theodore Roosevelt as Civil Service Commissioner. Presented Aug. 1923 by Capt. Edward J. Bourke.
Chapter 11. From Montauk Point where col. Roosevelt agreed to run as Governor of New York State. Presented March 1923 by Town of North Hempstead.
Chapter 21. A native rock. Theodore Roosevelt in his big stick and square deal. Presented Aug. 1923 by County of Nassau.
Chapter 22. From United States Navy, President Roosevelt's great peace move. Battle fleet round the world. Presented in 1921 by M.B. Brorstrom

Theodore Roosevelt Monument Assemblage Map

Map with numbers showing location of stones by chapter:

History and background

At the heart of the monument is the first and largest of the boulders, dedicated on Palm Sunday, April 13, 1919. A plaque affixed to this stone reads:

Roosevelt Memorial Oak to the Sacred Memory of THEODORE ROOSEVELT the Great American PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES 1901-1908
Planted Palm Sunday 1919 A.D. by Paul Brorstrom

Paul Brorstrom assembled a collection of boulders in his Kings Park estate to write the life of President Roosevelt in rocks.

Three boulders formed the nucleus for the monument dedicated at his Great Neck estate on June 10, 1922. One boulder was taken from Sagamore Hill recognizing Roosevelt's ties to Oyster Bay where his home was located. The second boulder was taken from San Juan Hill where Col. Roosevelt led a famous charge with his Rough Riders in the Spanish–American War. The final boulder from the Adirondack Mountains served as a reminder of where Roosevelt was upon being informed he would become president of the United States.^[1]

These were maintained in Kings Point by John Eggers, who, at the desire of the family, presented them to the town. The three original stones grew to a collection of 24 items including the first boulder dedicated immediately after Roosevelt's death, the three additional boulders dedicated in 1922, and several other boulders, stones, bricks, a large granite step, and other items relating to Roosevelt's life story and political accomplishments.

Six stones are documented as having been added between 1921 and 1924. The first from the United States Navy, recognizing Roosevelt's "great peace move, battle fleet round the world" was presented in 1921 by M.B. Brorstrom. This is odd because this stone is not included among the three that were dedicated the next year in 1922.

The five remaining stones were added after the 1922 dedication. These include: Chapter 11 from Montauk Point, presented March 1923 by the Town of North Hempstead; Chapter 2 from the step of a house in Maine presented February 1923 by W.W. Sewall; Chapter 7 from New York City where Roosevelt served as Civil Service Commissioner presented August 1923 by Capt. Edward J. Bourke; Chapter 21 presented by Nassau County in August 1923; and Chapter 6 from North Dakota, presented February 1924 by the Village of Medora.

These six stones, the three that were dedicated in 1922, and the original stone dedicated Palm Sunday 1919 brought the total of stones up to ten. That would leave 14 additional stones that may have been added before 1924 and whose plaques are today missing, or that were added sometime after 1924 and whose plaques also are missing.

The expanded Theodore Roosevelt Monument was moved and rededicated at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay on October 25, 1947. James L. Dowsey of Manhasset, former Nassau County attorney and Republican leader of the town of North Hempstead, who had made a dedication speech twenty-five years ago on the Brorstrom estate, was the principal speaker. The gathering was attended by 100 township officials, friends of the late President, members of his family, and a delegation of social science teachers of Nassau County headed by Jesse Merritt, county historian. Quentin Roosevelt, grandson of the former president and son of Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who died in the battlefield in Normandy in World War II, made an address of acceptance for the family. Supervisor Harry Tappen accepted the gift for the township.

The park had been presented formally by the Theodore Roosevelt Association to the Town of Oyster Bay on January 1, 1943.^[2] This was the perfect place to move the memorial, giving greater weight and meaning to "memorial" in the title "Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park."

Further changes to the memorial involved more additions or re-arrangement of existing items between 1947 and present day. Evidence of this comes from a New York Times article published on October 26, 1947, that refers to "A rock from Wilcox House, Buffalo, makes Chapter 12."^[3] On the plaque as it stands in 2008, this same rock is indicated as part of Chapter 16, not 12.

Restoration and maintenance needs

Information on the monument was compiled and included in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database in June 1994. Surveyors described the condition of the memorial as "treatment urgent."^[4]

Since that time no known work has been done to stabilize the monument. Several plaques describing the source of artifacts and stones have been removed and presumably stolen. The ground the memorial is situated upon tends to get moist very easily and standing water is frequently visible. Several of the stones have visible cracks, some of which are growing, and that might ultimately cause the stones to split. Attempts to repair other stones have left caulk and other filling materials that are out-of-character with the color and texture of the stone on which they are applied.

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References

↑ Three Boulders and Tree Dedicated at Great Neck, New York Times, June 11, 1922
↑ PARK MEMORIALIZES THEODORE ROOSEVELT; National Group Presents Site to Oyster Bay Township, New York Times, January 2, 1943
↑ Stones Memorialize Theodore Roosevelt, The New York Times, October 26, 1947
↑ "Theodore Roosevelt Monument Assemblage, (sculpture), Art Inventories Catalog, http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!342064!0#focus, accessed September 2008

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[1] Three Boulders and Tree Dedicated at Great Neck, New York Times, June 11, 1922

[2] PARK MEMORIALIZES THEODORE ROOSEVELT; National Group Presents Site to Oyster Bay Township, New York Times, January 2, 1943

[3] Stones Memorialize Theodore Roosevelt, The New York Times, October 26, 1947

[4] "Theodore Roosevelt Monument Assemblage, (sculpture), Art Inventories Catalog, http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!342064!0#focus, accessed September 2008

Rough Riders
Officers	Leonard Wood Theodore Roosevelt Alexander Oswald Brodie James H. McClintock Buckey O'Neill Seth Bullock John Campbell Greenway John Avery McIlhenny Allyn K. Capron Jr. Allyn K. Capron Sr. George Curry Woodbury Kane Thomas H. Rynning
Enlisted men	George G. McMurtry Chris Madsen Hamilton Fish Thomas Grindell Henry Barrett Billy McGinty Juan Alamia Frank Frantz Craig Wadsworth Henry Nash Ben Daniels Frank Knox Robert Wrenn
Engagements	Spanish–American War Battle of Las Guasimas Battle of San Juan Hill Siege of Santiago
Memorials	Rough Riders Memorial Buckey O'Neill Cabin Bucky O'Neill Monument Bronco Buster Theodore Roosevelt Monument Assemblage
Film	The Rough Riders (1927 film) Teddy, the Rough Rider (1940 film) Rough Riders (1997 mini-series)
See also	Buckhorn Saloon Arizona Rangers Three Guardsmen Canyon Diablo Train Robbery Tiburón Island Tragedy Roosevelt's World War I volunteers The Lost Battalion

v t e Theodore Roosevelt
26th President of the United States, 1901–1909 25th Vice President of the United States, 1901 33rd Governor of New York, 1899–1900 Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1897–1898 New York City Police Commissioner, 1895–1897 New York State Assemblyman, 1882 1883 1884
Presidency	First inauguration historic site Second inauguration "Square Deal" Booker T. Washington dinner Conservation Newlands Reclamation Act Transfer Act of 1905 Antiquities Act Pelican Island Devils Tower National Monument Muir Woods National Monument Other National Monuments United States Forest Service, United States Reclamation Service National Wildlife Refuge System Roosevelt Arch Conference of Governors Northern Securities Company breakup court case Coal strike of 1902 Pure Food and Drug Act Food and Drug Administration Meat Inspection Act Expediting Act Elkins Act Hepburn Act Aldrich–Vreeland Act Federal Employers Liability Act Kinkaid Act Big Stick ideology Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty Panama Canal Zone Panama Canal Venezuelan crisis Roosevelt Corollary Occupation of Cuba Russo-Japanese War Treaty of Portsmouth 1906 Nobel Peace Prize Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 College football meetings Bureau of Investigation Department of Commerce and Labor Bureau of Corporations Keep Commission Inland Waterways Commission Bureau of the Census Great White Fleet Perdicaris incident Cabinet White House West Wing State of the Union Address, 1901 1906 1908 White House desk Federal judiciary appointments
Other events	Spanish–American War Rough Riders Battle of Las Guasimas Battle of San Juan Hill "Bull Moose" Progressive Party New Nationalism Assassination attempt Boone and Crockett Club Smithsonian–Roosevelt African Expedition "River of Doubt" Amazonian expedition
Life and homes	Birthplace, boyhood home replica Sagamore Hill Home and Museum Oyster Bay Elkhorn Ranch Maltese Cross Cabin Pine Knot cabin Gravesite
Writings and speeches	Theodore Roosevelt bibliography The Naval War of 1812(1882 book) "The Strenuous Life" (1899 speech) "Citizenship in a Republic" (1910 speech) "Progressive Cause Greater Than Any Individual" (1912 post-assassination-attempt speech) Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography(1913 book) The Forum magazine articles Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia Archival collections
Elections	New York state election, 1898 Republican National Convention, 1900 1904 1912 1916 United States presidential election, 1900 1904 1912
Legacy	Mount Rushmore Theodore Roosevelt Center and Digital Library White House Roosevelt Room Theodore Roosevelt National Park Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness Theodore Roosevelt Island Roosevelt National Forest Roosevelt Study Center Theodore Roosevelt Association Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park Monument Assemblage Roosevelt River Theodore Roosevelt Award Roosevelt Road U.S. Postage stamps Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider sculpture Equestrian statue
Popular culture	Teddy bear "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" Books Films Roosevelt in Africa1910 documentary The Roosevelts2014 documentary
Related	Political positions "Bully pulpit" Ananias Club "Nature fakers" Progressive Era A Guest of Honor Porcellian Club "Muckraker" National Collegiate Athletic Association "Roosevelt Republican"
Family	Alice Hathaway Lee (first wife) Edith Kermit Carow (second wife) Alice Lee Roosevelt (daughter) Theodore Roosevelt III (son) Kermit Roosevelt (son) Ethel Carow Roosevelt (daughter) Archibald Roosevelt (son) Quentin Roosevelt (son) Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (father) Martha Stewart Bulloch (mother) Anna Roosevelt (sister) Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt (brother) Corinne Roosevelt (sister) Cornelius Roosevelt (grandfather) James Stephens Bulloch (grandfather) James A. Roosevelt (uncle) Robert Roosevelt (uncle) James Dunwoody Bulloch (half-uncle) Irvine Bulloch (uncle) Theodore Douglas Robinson (nephew) Corinne Robinson (niece) Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (niece) Hall Roosevelt (nephew)
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