Theodore Roosevelt National Park guide · 1 min read
From CCC Camps to National Park, 1934–1978
After Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919, people began exploring the Little Missouri Badlands in North Dakota to find possible sites for a park.
Between 1934 and 1941, Civilian Conservation Corps camps were set up in both of the areas that would later become park units. The crews built roads and other structures, and many of them are still in use today.
In 1935 the land was designated the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area. In 1946 it was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and became the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge.
North Dakota representative William Lemke spent five years campaigning for a national park here. On April 25, 1947, President Truman established the South Unit as Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, the only National Memorial Park ever established. Congress added the North Unit in June 1948, and the two units together formed the memorial park.
In 1978 the designation was changed to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The same action included boundary adjustments and the creation of 29,920 acres of wilderness. Today, visitors can take scenic drives to overlooks, where bison, feral horses, and elk roam the grasslands and badlands.
