Tom and I drove to Buffalo, New York to Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, after seeing Harriet Tubman and Women’s Rights National Historical Parks in the morning. The website for Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural said that the site was only open for tours. The tours are free and offered every hour all day long every day. Reservations are recommended.
Tom and I didn’t have reservations for a tour. I didn’t want to make a reservation because I wasn’t sure when we would be there. We walked in at 1:28 and the 1:30 tour was full. But two people hadn’t shown up yet. If they didn’t come in the next two minutes, we could have their spots. The door to the site opened twice and Tom and I nervously waited. The two people didn’t show up, so Tom and I were able to take their places on the tour. Score!
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site is the place where Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as President after William McKinley died from an assassin’s bullet. McKinley was in Buffalo, New York for the Pan-American Exposition when he was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Roosevelt had been on a family vacation in the Adirondacks and came to Buffalo when the President was shot. He stayed with friends, Ansley and Mary Grace Wilcox, who lived in the home that has been preserved as the inaugural location.
President McKinley died at 2:15 a.m. on September 14, a week after he had been shot. Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office at 3 p.m. the same day in the parlor of the Wilcox house. The oath was administered by John R. Hazel, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York. It was witnessed by some of Cabinet members, other dignitaries, and family members. Theodore Roosevelt pledged to continue the policies of President McKinley who had just been reelected the previous year. At the age of 42, Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest man to be sworn in as President.
The tour was very interesting. Our guide gave us lots of history, but the site also had several audio-visual aides that helped in telling the story. In one room we watched a “Movietone News” type video on the Pan-American Exposition. Another room ran a multi-media presentation on the issues Theodore Roosevelt saw as most important when he assumed the presidency. In the room where the inauguration was held, we heard audio of the words that were spoken. Our guide also took us upstairs to the bedroom where Theodore Roosevelt slept.
After our guide left us, we wandered around some of the displays on the history of the house. The house had originally been the Army officer quarters for the Buffalo Barracks. Then it was converted into a private home owned by a succession of people until the Wilcox family moved in. After the Wilcox family sold it, it became a restaurant. In danger of being torn down, it was declared a National Historic Site in 1966 under the operation of the National Park Service. After restoration, it was opened as a museum on the 70th anniversary of the inauguration in 1971.
Tom and I found the story and the museum fascinating. The interpretation of the site was extremely well done, helping us enter into the story. We had a great volunteer tour guide. If you haven’t visited this site, it is well worth a couple of hours. I got my last stamp of the trip, and we continued our trek toward home.