BBP Heritage Association | Suffolk County Plans for a Teddy Roosevelt Historic Tourism 80-mile Trail

Teddy Roosevelt visits Meadow Croft!

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Theodore Roosevelt Historic Tourism Trail:

Sagamore Hill > Meadowcroft > Third House / Project

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On a sunny, cool, crisp Monday morning at the Meadow Croft estate in Sayville, County Executive Ed Romaine and other government officials announced plans for a Theodore Roosevelt Historic Tourism Trail, a roughly 80 mile route running from the president’s summer home in Oyster Bay, across the South Shore, all the way to the bluffs at Montauk. This trail will include a stop at Meadow Croft, the summer home of Teddy’s cousin, John Ellis Roosevelt.

The date of this announcement was no accident as Monday September 14th was exactly 125 years after Roosevelt took the oath of office in 1901 following the assassination of President William McKinley, becoming, at 42, the youngest president in American history. A Roosevelt impersonator handled part of the program, arguing that history absorbed in place beats history absorbed in the classroom.

The project is still in its planning stage and Romaine said the county does not yet have a date for completion. So far, there are three stops already in existence: Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, Roosevelt’s summer White House, Meadow Croft on the South shore, and the eastern site is Montauk County Park. That is where Camp Wikoff stood in 1898, the encampment where Roosevelt and the Rough Riders recuperated in quarantine after the Spanish-American War and the fight at San Juan Hill. The county plans to place historical road signs along the path carrying historical facts, so a driver, cyclist, or rider following it picks up the story mile by mile.

A special Thank You to our amazing volunteers and board members who opened the home for tours for our distinguished guests. Suffolk Co. Parks Department did an amazing job helping get the grounds ready for this official visit. And Bravo to our own Jen Economos for playing the role of Nanny Vance Roosevelt and driving with the County Executive in a Ford Model A.

Check back for more updates on this historic endeavor in the coming months. The Bayport Blue Point Heritage Association is proud to be a part of this amazing project!

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