Roosevelt S Maltese Cross Cabin
After returning to dakota in 1884 he established a second ranch he named the elkhorn.
Roosevelt s maltese cross cabin. History of the cabin. Roosevelt s elkhorn ranch is a separate remote area of the park 35 miles north of medora accessible by gravel roads. The cabin was originally located roughly seven miles south of medora in the wooded bottom lands of the little missouri river. Roosevelt s maltese cross cabin can be found just behind the visitor center.
Today the maltese cross cabin stands behind the visitor center at the entrance to theodore roosevelt national park in medora and the original pitched roof has been recreated. The cabin has survived the 131 years since roosevelt bought it. The maltese cross cabin is a cabin used by theodore roosevelt before he was president. It was to be the first of two ranches that roosevelt would own in the badlands near medora.
Constructed of durable ponderosa pine the cabin has wooden floors and contains a living room kitchen and bedroom. The maltese cross was now roosevelt s although he had sunk a great portion of his annual income into its purchase. Built in 1883 the cabin was roosevelt s first home in north dakota though it was located seven miles south of where it now sits. By 1887 roosevelt began to sell his interests in the cattle industry.
The maltese cross cabin was originally located about seven miles south of medora in the wooded bottomland of the little missouri river. What became known as the maltese cross cabin was only a temporary home for roosevelt. The maltese cross cabin was later abandoned for a time but is now preserved and maintained properly by the national park service today it is located within theodore roosevelt national park and designated as a historic landmark. The cabin was larger than most frontier homes of the time with a living room kitchen bedroom and sleeping loft for the ranch hands.
Check with park rangers for road conditions and routes to travel to the site. The cabin is currently located at the visitor center at theodore roosevelt national park just outside the town of medora north dakota. After roosevelt purchased primary interest in the chimney butte ranch or the maltese cross ranch as it was known by locals he had a one and a half story cabin constructed on the property. The foundation of the ranch house and other.
The steeply pitched roof unique at the time created an upstairs. The maltese cross cabin located directly behind the theodore roosevelt national park interpretive center offers an authentic glimpse into theodore roosevelt s life in the badlands. He would split his time between dakota and new york for the next several years.