SAGAMORE HILL: THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S SUMMER WHITE HOUSE

This informative and fascinating slide/lecture is presented by Long Island historian and former Newsday staff writer Bill Bleyer. His lecture traces the history of events centered around Sagamore Hill, including how the Roosevelt family began to visit Oyster Bay during the Civil War, and how years later Theodore Roosevelt came to select this area as the site for building his magnificent dream home. After Sagamore Hill was constructed, he not only hosted political guests like Henry Cabot Lodge there, but also entertained cultural luminaries such as novelist Edith Wharton. Roosevelt spent his final years happily at Sagamore Hill and died in 1919, after which the house was first preserved by his widow, then by the Theodore Roosevelt Association, and eventually by the National Park Service. It is now possible for visitors to enjoy Sagamore Hill year-round, and to share its rich history with future generations of children and grandchildren.