Medora North Dakota and Teddy Roosevelt Country
Nature, Shops, an Unusual Barbecue and a Musical Make it Special
May 12, 2009
Medora is a tourist town. No doubt about it. It’s a memorial of sorts to the days when Theodore Roosevelt, who became 26th President of the United States, called the area home. Split-rail fences and barrels brimming with peppermint petunias line the village’s board sidewalks. Late 19th Century buildings house old time photo parlors with Teddy-era costumes. Souvenir store shelves brim with T.R – themed items like coffee mugs. And the total effect is charming.
Much of that charm is due to the work of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, created by philanthropist Harold Schafer. North Dakota-born Schafer headed the Gold Seal Company, producer of Glass Wax, Snowy Bleach and Mr. Bubble top world sellers in their categories in the 1960s. The Foundation is a nonprofit company that owns and manages half of Medora’s businesses and produces its summer shows, doing $6 million in business each year.
Shops Offer Everything from Cookware to Teddy Bears
Among the most interesting of the Foundation-operated shops, the Dakota Cupboard carries a fine selection of cookware and food products, specializing in those produced in North Dakota. Another store, Teddy's Bears, is a “build-a-bear” business, especially appropriate because the teddy bear was made popular during T.R.’s administration. Customers can choose from a variety of bears and other animals, stuff their selections and dress them (9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.).End of the Trail is a bargain hunters’ dream that offers one of-a-kind items from the Medora Foundation stores at markdowns of 25% to 75% and more (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
Museums Display Antique Dolls, Cowboy Memorabilia
More shopping opportunities and chances to learn about the area’s history are waiting at the town’s museums. Medora Doll House Gifts, located in the Medora Doll House Museum, offers dolls for sale in all sizes, styles, and prices. Even non-shoppers will enjoy looking at the antique dolls and toys on display. The shop and museum are located in the von Hoffman House, which was built in 1884 for his in-laws by Medora’s founder, the Marquis de Mores. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places (10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
The Museum of the Badlands is known for its collection of Native American artifacts and regalia, which is said to be the largest in the Midwest. Also on display are dioramas of life in the Badlands and a collection of wax figures illustrating life during 18th Century western fronntier days. One of the exhibit cases contains Roosevelt memorabilia, including "The Brave Rough Riders" sheet music and a book of Roosevelt's North Dakota speeches called "The Romance of My Life."
The Cowboy Hall of Fame is located on the edge of Medora near the entrance of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park The museum chronicles the history of Native Americans, ranching, rodeo, and the western lifestyle of the plains and Badlands with a variety of exhibits – both from its permanent collection and with traveling western culture exhibits. The $3 million facility, which was designed by Bismarck architect Arnie Hanson, includes a 15,000-square-foot building and 5,000-square-foot patio. More than 100 honorees have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and more are added each year. ( Open May through September 10am to 5pm; June, July, August 10am to 7:30pm)
Located southwest of town, the 26-room Chateau de Mores was built in 1883 by Antoine de Vallombrosa, the Marquis de Mores, whose enterprises included cattle and sheep raising, a beef packing plant, a stagecoach line, a freight company and refrigerated railway cars. DeMores built the large frame house for his New York-born bride, Medora. The Chateau is now a historic house museum and contains many of the original furnishings and family’s personal effects. of the de Mores family. The ruins of deMore’s packing plant, which burned in 1907, are on the west edge of town.
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