Oyster Bay Things to Do

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This had been on my "Bucket List" for a long long time. We drove to Long Island over Labor Day weekend, 2010. Hurrican Earl was barreling along up the Eastern seaboard and had the potential to hit Long Island. Earl didn't show up and neither did the hoards of holiday weekend tourists. We really lucked out and had a great four days there.
The Hamptons was busy but very interesting - enjoyed the vinyards and Oyster Bay area.
From Long Island we drove on to Granville, Massachusetts for some genealogy work in several cemeteries. Sure made some great memories that weekend.

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After checking in at the visitor center and then walking about 100 yards to the house I waited outside with several other early morning TR fans awaiting for our personal house tour. Right at 10:30 a.m. our national park district guide opened the front door and after a few introductory words (NO PICTURES inside the house, etc, darn) we were allowed into the house for our 30 minute tour.

I had seen plenty of pictures of the interior of his house and read many TR books (not has many has Abraham Lincoln, but enough) describing the interior and his family days there, but to see something in person and to walk and breathe in the same environment even 100 years later brings a clearer focus to everything. I could almost imagine TR in his office reading and writing or his children running around the house much like my household when my kids were younger.

We first toured the ground floor which included a ground floor office on the right side, his wife Edith's room (much brighter and sunnier on the side overlooking the Bay (you can't see the Bay now because of mature trees on neighbors properties) the addition in the back, the kitchen and eating area. Many of Theodore Roosevelt's animal heads and skins are featured in the house. I won't go into too much detail here, but you can always check the website connection I have. Upstairs are all the bedrooms for the family, housekeepers, cooks and another study and the room where he died in his sleep at the young age of 60.

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Sagamore Hill was the home of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, from 1885 until his death in 1919. Nearly unchanged since 1910 (the year after he left the presidency and returned from a long safari in Africa). Visitors can see 23 rooms of the house by taking a guided tour of the home ($5 admission fee). The main downstairs part of the house contains many artifacts from his presidency and from his many safaris, including furniture and accoutrements made from animal trophies (important to note here that these things were legal in the early part of the 20th century. Today, seeing an ashtray made from the foot of an elephant just makes me sad...)

Very interesting, and a lovely part of the island (Long Island) to explore.

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Sagamore Hill was the home of the 26th President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt from 1886 until his death in 1919. It is located at the end of Cove Neck Road, Cove Neck, New York on Long Island, 45 miles east of Manhattan.
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Although a native of New York City, Theodore Roosevelt spent many childhood summers with his family in the Oyster Bay area. In 1880, by then a young adult of 22, Roosevelt purchased 155 acres of land for $30,000 on Cove Neck, a small peninsula roughly 2 miles northeast of the village of Oyster Bay. In 1884 he hired the New York architectural firm Lamb & Rich to design a shingle-style, Queen Anne home for the property. The home was completed for $16,975.

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 and, according to his wishes, was buried in the small Youngs Memorial Cemetery, just one mile from his home. Edith Roosevelt continued to occupy the property until her death, nearly three decades later, in September 1948. The house was first opened to the public as a museum on June 14th, 1953.

On July 25, 1962 Congress established Sagamore Hill National Historic Site to preserve the house as a unit of the National Park Service. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, Sagamore Hill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The twenty-three room house is open to the public. The other attraction at the site is the Theodore Roosevelt Museum, which chronicles the life and career of the President. The museum is housed in the Old Orchard building, the former residence of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and his family.

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Oyster Bay has a festival called, "St. Rocco Festival" it is a cute little festival with rides for the kiddies, beer, gambeling and food for the adults. You can walk through the whole thing in less than 5 minutes. But it is nice to see whats going on. Raffle tickets for a car, for 20 bucks ..and no funnel cake!

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The beach at oyster bay is beautiful. The sunset is amazing. However, being from New Jersey, I take my beaches very seriously. Oyster Bay is on the north shore, so instead of soft sand, you have rocks. I dont go swimming there because i am a baby when it comes to walking on hard rocks. However, walking by the beach at night, and taking pictures is very enjoyable.

Sagamore Hill was the home of President Teddy Roosevelt (who was also Governor of NY state). It's now a national historic site, and you can visit Wed-Sun 10a-4p (annoyingly, signs in town say "Closed Mon-Tue"). For $5, you can get a tour of the house, but call ahead, as they can sell out. ALL TOURS must be guided. Walking the grounds is free, and there are signs all around describing stuff, including an old tennis court in the woods. On weekends, they have a free guided tour of the grounds.

My favorite part of the house (from the outside) is that TR had part of the front porch balcony removed so he could more effectively address the press and the public.

At its commanding presence on a large slope, you can spend about 2-3 hours here and the surrounding area. It is gorgeous. One of the richest property value areas in the US.