Our Mission

Our mission is to advance Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy of leadership by inspiring civic engagement and preserving the site of his unexpected 1901 inauguration in Buffalo, New York, which sparked the birth of the modern presidency.   (Adopted 2025)

Who We Are

The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization founded in 1968 to operate, maintain, and interpret the historic home where Theodore Roosevelt took the Presidential Oath of Office following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901.

The home and site are units of the National Park Service, the only NPS location in Western New York, and are managed by the Foundation through a cooperative agreement. This is altogether fitting as it was President Theodore Roosevelt himself who laid the groundwork for later advances in federal policy that led to a robust National Park system in the United States. Theodore Roosevelt, well known for his commitment to conservation of land and wildlife for public enjoyment, signed into law the 1906 Antiquities Act, giving the president the power to protect cultural and natural resources on public land.

The TR Site was added to the National Registry of Historic Places on November 2, 1966 and was the first National Landmark in Buffalo and Erie County. Enabling legislation was signed into law in 1980 identifying the TRIS Foundation as an external partner of the NPS who maintains, operates, and interprets the TR Site through a cooperative agreement. That same enabling legislation also includes verbiage indicating that the Department of the Interior may provide up to 2/3 of the Site’s operating budget.

As of 2025, the National Park Service provides about 1/3 of the Site’s operating budget and the Foundation raises the remaining amount through donations, grants, ticket sales, special events and programs, group tours, sponsorships, rentals, and gift shop purchases.