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A sandy embankment at the base of a river with the Key bridge in the distance.
Theodore Roosevelt Island
NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Theodore Roosevelt Island

Theodore Roosevelt Island, dedicated to America's 26th president and great conservationist, is a manmade forest mimicking the former natural landscape.

Theodore Roosevelt was a man with vision. He considered the future before making decisions and his legacies still influence us. Perhaps his greatest legacy was in conservation. This wooded island is a fitting memorial to the outdoorsman, naturalist, and visionary who was our 26th President.

After Roosevelt's death on January 6, 1919, citizens wanted to establish a memorial in his honor. The 91 acre wooded island in the Potomac seemed the perfect place. The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association purchased the island in 1932. Congress approved funds in 1960 and the memorial was dedicated on October 27, 1967.