Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

On our drive to Niagara Falls, our family made a detour into Buffalo to visit the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. I remembered that it was here, in an upstairs parlor, that Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office following the assassination of President William McKinley. At just forty-two years old, Roosevelt became the youngest man ever to assume the presidency. Though he stepped into the office under tragic circumstances, he would go on to lead the nation with remarkable energy and leave a legacy.

The house itself was not Roosevelt’s, but belonged to Ansley Wilcox, a prominent Buffalo lawyer and friend of the Roosevelt family. In September 1901, President McKinley had traveled to Buffalo to attend the Pan-American Exposition, where he was shot by an assassin. Vice President Roosevelt, who had been vacationing in the Adirondacks, rushed to Buffalo when McKinley’s condition worsened. After the president died on September 14, Roosevelt stayed at the Wilcox home, and it was there, in the library, that Federal Judge John R. Hazel administered the oath of office.

Established as a National Historic Site in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the site preserves this pivotal moment in American history. The house itself is beautifully restored and allows visitors to experience the setting in which the nation unexpectedly passed from one president to another.

Standing before this stately home, I was reminded that history often turns in ordinary places. In the quiet rooms of a friend’s house, Theodore Roosevelt began a presidency that would shape the Progressive Era and transform America’s role in the world. Though he inherited enormous responsibilities, Roosevelt’s courage, vision, and boundless enthusiasm helped define one of the most influential presidencies in our nation’s history.