The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota is designed to be a living interactive structure that stands in tribute to the man and his unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship. It’s not just a place to house books, documents, and ephemera, but a sentient part of the North Dakota landscape. Through its exhibitions, trails, and pavilions, visitors are encouraged to be active participants in the building and grounds.

The 93-acre facility offers expansive and contemplative viewing platforms of the lands that inspired Roosevelt, including his own Elkhorn Ranch and the rolling Little Missouri River valley.  The facility’s locale, ecology, and design collaborate sympathetically to express Roosevelt’s eco-forward beliefs while tangibly honoring his legacy. Roosevelt retreated to North Dakota in 1884 following the death of his mother and wife on the same day. He found solace in the area's plants and animals and was healed by its diverse landscape. The inspiration for the building’s design by lead architect Craig Dykers of Snøhetta originated from both Roosevelt's visit and the visage of a leaf resting upon two pebbles.

The Presidential Library is pursuing certification from the International Living Future Institute as part of its “Living Building Challenge,” which is described on their website as, “A framework for design, construction, and the symbiotic relationship between people, or community, and nature.”

The library’s reliance on both renewable and locally sourced materials will assist in gaining this certification. The structure's design is cognizant of the weather, flora, and is immersed in the biodiversity of its surroundings. The building will be completely self-sufficient and will feature zero energy, zero emissions, zero water, and zero waste while exhibiting a seamless assimilation into the landscape. 

This land first approach includes a nod to native species including 28,000 plants which will be planted on the facility’s roof. The end goal is that visitors will discover the same sort of inspiration from the area's natural surroundings that Roosevelt experienced when he visited the area. 

For over 30 years Pioneer Millworks has been providing creative reclaimed and sustainable wood flooring, paneling, and siding solutions to clients. We source and save wood with a story which end-users can connect with; materials that are good for our people & our planet. Therefore, the Theodore Roosevelt Library project and our ethos are the perfect match, as our goal is to rescue wood with a history and provide it with new place to tell its tale.

We are honored to provide the raw materials for the flooring in the library. Contributing to such a sustainable and historic project is near and dear to our hearts. Pioneer Millworks yard and inventory leader Josh Peck says, “The reclaimed timbers for the library project originated from an old Factory in Lavonia, GA."

Heart pine was plentiful in the 18^th and 19^th century along the Southeastern coastal plain of the United States. Because of its abundance and geographical location, the timber was an obvious choice for construction and craft from the southern tip of Virginia all the way to central Florida.

Because of its plentiful availability, strength, and beauty, Heart Pine was chosen as the wood species which our country’s industry was built on. Most, if not all of the era’s factories, mills, schools, and public buildings used Heart Pine as their structural foundation. 

Sourced from the heart of Longleaf Southern Yellow Pine, its timbers are perfect for industrial construction as the dense grain patterns and high resin content confirm it to be hard and durable. As the Longleaf Pine matures its core, or heartwood becomes saturated with oils and resins. As these develop the central heartwood increases in density, durability and also gains a greater resistance to decay.

Most of the historic buildings you will find in the United States still have their original Heart Pine bones providing their flooring, joists and paneling. 

The widespread harvesting and heavy use of Heart Pine resulted in the resources’ quick depletion, because by the start of the 20th century virtually all of the Heart Pine available for harvest had been processed for construction.

Because of over harvesting and deforestation, today, Heart Pine is a highly limited species. The tree’s take up to 500 years to reach full maturity, with most of the timber currently left being still immature trees. Now, the most appropriate way to obtain the wood is through reclamation and reuse.

That’s where we come in. The robust, reclaimed and repurposed Heart Pine timbers that we provided to the Theodore Roosevelt Library project will soon become the new flooring in the facility. The grade of the wood and the random widths illustrating an homage to sustainability through the new utilization of the material.

Pioneer Millworks Northeast Territory Manager Jessica Sheldon says, “Solid material was what they wanted on this project for longevity and authenticity. They wanted to go as wide as possible with the widths and eliminate any short lengths. We supplied the project in a custom 5”, 7”, 9” random nominal width mix.  Wider widths were used in exhibit spaces and then the narrower widths in less prominent areas. Lengths were 4’ to 12’ random lengths (also custom – longer than normal length structure).”

Sheldon continues, “The design team on the project opted for the material to be further culled beyond the grade to eliminate larger bolt holes and ferrous staining (inherent to heart pine – since reclaimed from old industrial buildings there are typically a lot of fasteners). PMW’s shop preserved the long lengths, with any undesirable characteristics to be worked around on the job site rather than wasting the entire board and driving up costs. Selected holes will be filled and other areas cut out on site or used in areas that aren’t as visible. This was another reason for the material to be finished on the job site; creating a smooth seamless surface and the most consistent finish for cleanliness and protecting against moisture from the top side of the floor.”

Our team worked with the flooring contractor, H2I Group, lending our expertise on the product nuances, providing installation guidance, and guiding them through the process. In the end, our Heart Pine flooring will be another sustainable component in the overall assemblage of eco-conscious materials making up the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The collaboration of history, sustainability, and forward thinking design a testament Roosevelt and a contemporary appreciation our our planet and our past.

Architect:  Snøhetta 

Flooring Contractor:  H2I Group