History
Although a native of New York City, Theodore Roosevelt spent many summers of his youth on extended vacations with his family in the Oyster Bay area. In 1880, by then a young adult of 22, Roosevelt purchased 155 acres (62.7 hectares) of land for $30,000 (equal to $722,483 today) on Cove Neck, a small peninsula roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of the village of Oyster Bay. In 1881, his uncle James A. Roosevelt had designed his estate home several hundred feet west of the Sagamore Hill property. In 1884 Theodore Roosevelt hired the New York architectural firm Lamb & Rich to design a shingle-style, Queen Anne home for the property. The twenty-two room home was completed in 1886 for $16,975 (equal to $439,087 today), and Roosevelt moved into the house in 1887. Roosevelt originally planned to name the house "Leeholm" after his wife Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. However, she died in 1884 and Roosevelt remarried in 1887, so he decided to change the name to "Sagamore Hill." In 1905 Roosevelt decided to expand the house adding the largest room, entitled the "North Room" (40x30) for $19,000 (equal to $491,467 today). The home now has twenty-three rooms.
The house and its surrounding farmland became the primary residence of Theodore and Edith Roosevelt for the rest of their lives. Sagamore Hill took on its greatest importance when it became known as the "Summer White House" during the seven summers (1902–1908) Roosevelt spent there as President. Roosevelt died at Sagamore Hill in January 1919.
Read more about this topic: Sagamore Hill (house)
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