The Conservation President

While Roosevelt was not the president to establish the National Park Service as an arm of the government, he did lay down a groundwork of land preservation and National Park establishment that has not been repeated by a single president. Theodore Roosevelt established the United States Forest Service in 1905 and during his presidency he created 150 national forests, 18 national monuments, 51 federal bird reserves, and 5 national parks.

In all, President Roosevelt protected approximately  230 million acres of public land. In this exhibit you will see some of President Roosevelt’s literature including a signed copy of Roosevelt’s book, The Great Adventure. Visitors will also be able to learn more about the history of the National Park Service, see original pages of a Theodore Roosevelt TIMES magazine article, and a display of postcards showing all the U.S. National Parks (and one bonus).

A special bonus of this exhibit in honor of National Parks Week is an ongoing raffle while the Exhibit is open. Displayed to the side of the title of the exhibit is a wooden National Park Service Sign that will be raffled at the end of the exhibit. To enter simply visit the exhibit, fill out a sheet telling us how many national parks you’ve personally visited and drop it in our box! The winner will be contacted via email on July 1st, 2025.

Also, don’t miss our Echoes of Exhibitions case in which we give you a second chance to view pieces from previous exhibits. This exhibition will be on view until July 1st, 2025.