Meet the Roosevelts all year long

John Ellis Roosevelt, Meadow Croft’s property owner, will inform you about his cousin, President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, and his historic visit by horseback from Oyster Bay on July 23, 1903 with his sons. You can listen to John Ellis, seemingly in real-life time, by the horse post to the left of the mansion’s front staircase.

But then, Teddy speaks, too. He can be seen to the staircase’s right. What started as a family visit gave Teddy an opportunity to give a speech to locals who gathered on the front lawn. He speaks again by the trail head about the conservation influence his uncle, Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, John Ellis’s father, had on his life.

Robert Barnwell Roosevelt and John Ellis Roosevelt’s wife, Nannie, also weigh in, providing fascinating aspects of that day and of the times during the five stops.

They’re available via the TRAR app, the Robert David Lion Gardiner Digital Tapestry program, thanks to their significant grant and collaborative work with the Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association and Suffolk County Historic Services.

Just use the free TRAR app (available on Android or Apple devices), point your phone to the site, and these historic figures of the early 20th century speak, wearing period clothes while talking, gesturing, and providing fascinating historical insights. Thanks to the company 360XR, which utilizes digital storytelling, they look and sound real.

You can access these stops at Meadow Croft all year long.

“It preserves history in a modern way,” said RDLG Foundation executive director Kathryn Curran.

“It also extends a story line and establishes him as a Long Islander,” said Suffolk County director of historic services Richard Martin, who dug into the research from the Brooklyn Eagle along with Michael Sheedy.

Noel Gish Jr. wrote the script.

Curran and Martin gathered on Sunday at Meadow Croft, along with BBP Heritage Association board members, guiding invitees along the app stops for the Theodore Roosevelt Augmented Reality Experience. Several of the stops are cited in imbedded flat stones, like the one by the trail head, the caretaker’s cottage, and the Auto House, the first of its kind on Long Island when the car industry was in its infancy.

For the RDLG Foundation’s Theodore Roosevelt Digital Tapestry Project, there were a lot of back-and-forth conversations to ensure the correct information was given on the apps. The Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association formed a Digital Tapestry Committee that included president Mary Bailey, Jack Stephenson, Frank Giebfried, Mary Lou Cohalan, Richard Martin, and Michael Sheedy.

There are two other Teddy Roosevelt TRAR app locations, including one launching at the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum this week; a 1776R app at six locations on the American Revolution; and a 1502AR app on African American Culture at the Southampton African American Museum.

The historic icons featured at them were interesting, resourceful, thought about the future, and were modern for their time. Case in point: In 1903, Nannie was driving, and so did other women, including her daughters.

A surprise or two did pop up from the research.

“We found another aspect to the day,” Martin said.

It was thought that Teddy originally trotted up the driveway off Middle Road for his historic visit.

Uh, uh.

“He was coming to see his uncle [Robert Barnwell] and there was a road to that estate, Lotus Lake, off Montauk Highway (that estate is no longer there). That’s where he was staying. His kids bugged him to visit so they could fish with his cousin,” Martin said.

Not one to miss a promotional activity, “[Teddy] actually gave a speech from the Meadow Croft porch,” Martin said. He was also driven around the neighborhood. Nannie drove him in their car to visit her friends in Bayport, with Teddy in the front seat.

Robert Barnwell then took Teddy in his car, called “The Big Machine,” to Oakdale.

After Sunday’s gathering—which included assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo—went through the app stops, there were cookies, petit fours, fruit croissants and coffee in the house, set up by Leanne Berg. 

While the Roosevelts will be available by app on the grounds all year, you have until the end of October on the weekend for an indoor tour. The house is beautiful with period furniture, rugs, wallpaper.

Giebfried thanked everyone who pitched in. “We hope this brings in more visitors,” he said.