Roosevelt is a historical community located 16 miles west of Junction on Texas Loop 291 in Kimble County, Texas, United States. Roosevelt has a small population of nine people, with several other ranching families outside the community limits. In 1997, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 4343 was designated to acknowledge the community of Roosevelt, Texas. Roosevelt is home to the Simon Brothers Cafe, Lyssy & Eckel Feeds and Allison Well Drilling. Roosevelt is located along

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

at its midpoint in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, approximately 438 miles from both the

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

border.

History

The establishment of Roosevelt happened when Alice C.E. Wagoner was appointed postmistress and a post office was established on August 22, 1898. Wagoner applied for the community as a different name, but the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

named the town Roosevelt. It is presumed that the postal service chose the name for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, who had made headlines the month before on July 1, 1898, with his charge up San Juan Hill with the

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

. Roosevelt's 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, known as the Rough Riders, was organized and trained at

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

on May 9–19, 1898. Roosevelt was a shipping point for feed and grain for local sheep and goat farmers. Horses were bred in Roosevelt for the United States Cavalry, and also for the national polo market. In the early part of the 20th century, Roosevelt hosted polo matches.

References

{{Kimble County, Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Ghost towns in Central Texas Populated places in Kimble County, Texas