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Photo Diary: Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration National Historical Site, Buffalo NY [1]
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Date: 2022-08-04
In September 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo by an anarchist. I diaried that story here. Today the site of the assassination is a roadway in a suburban neighborhood, and nothing remains of it but a memorial plaque. But not far away is the Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration National Historical Site, where the then-Vice President was sworn in upon McKinley’s death as the new President.
Roosevelt was in Vermont when the shooting occurred, and he rushed to Buffalo by train and stayed in a house with his friend Ansley Wilcox. There he and most of McKinley’s cabinet were assured by doctors that McKinley would recover, and Roosevelt left to continue his trip in the Adirondacks.
When McKinley’s condition worsened, however, a message was sent to Roosevelt, who again rushed to Buffalo. By the time he arrived, McKinley was already dead. Roosevelt took the oath of office at 3:30pm on September 14, in the library of the Wilcox house.
The house was owned by the Wilcox family until the 1930s, when it became a restaurant. In the 1960s there was a fundraising drive to buy the home, which was slated for demolition, and a local bank purchased it and held it until the US could declare it a National Historic Site. It opened to the public in 1971.
Some photos from a visit.
For those who don't know, I live in a converted campervan and travel around the country, posting photo diaries of places that I visit. I am currently in New York.
The spot where McKinley was killed is today an ordinary suburban street
The memorial stone
The Wilcox House
Historical marker outside
The Visitors Center is in the old Carriage House
There is a small museum
Souvenirs from the Pan American Expo
Guided tour
Roosevelt was sworn in here in the library
President Roosevelt stayed in Buffalo for a short while, and Wilcox let him use this room as his office
The original desk is still here
Upstairs is a recreation of Roosevelt’s White House office
There happened to be a temporary exhibit of “political cartoons” drawn by local schoolkids
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