06/28/2026
I first studied Sagamore Hill through photographs and architectural drawings, drawn to its inventive shingle detailing and beautifully crafted banister railings while researching historic restoration techniques for similar homes in Tuxedo Park. Somehow, despite that familiarity, I had never actually visited. Seeing these details in person today was a reminder that no book or photograph can fully capture the craftsmanship and presence of a truly great historic house. Sagamore Hill is one of America’s most important examples of late 19th-century residential architecture—not because of its grandeur, but because of its authenticity. Designed by the New York firm Lamb & Rich and completed in 1885, the house is a masterful blend of Shingle Style and Queen Anne architecture, with asymmetrical massing, broad porches, and a natural, informal relationship to its landscape.
Beyond its architectural merit, Sagamore Hill became Theodore Roosevelt’s “Summer White House,” where world leaders were received and major diplomatic decisions—including negotiations that helped end the Russo-Japanese War—were conducted. Remarkably, the house remains largely intact with its original furnishings, making it one of the country’s best-preserved presidential homes and an enduring symbol of American architecture at the turn of the 20th century.
