Theodore Roosevelt Timeline - 1858-1919 - Parts 1, 2 , & 3 - As Related to STM Historic Railway Collection

Theodore Roosevelt utilized rail transportation throughout
his life. August 31, 1916, TR was a passenger aboard
the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 16, Clematis.
He would also ride a PLI  interurban, No. 14, Narcissus,
August 18, 1914.  The Narcissus is currently undergoing
restoration in Kennebunkport, Maine, at the

Updated 6-10-2026

May 31, 2026, Joe Banavige released this wonderful American 250 Tribute to William W " Bill" Sewall, TR's Maine guide (along with Wilmot Dow, Bill's nephew) 
Click here to see Joe's Substack post

Part 1 - 1858-1900

Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline and Parallels with
Seashore Trolley Museum's Historic Railway Collection 

(Excerpts in  part from Trolley Car Treasury, (1956) by Frank Rowsome)
      In the year of TR's birth, 1858, Philadelphia opened its first horsecar line.
Horse Railroads/Horse-drawn passenger cars (horsecars) on rails. First came onto the public transportation scene in the late 1820s. They evolved from the earlier horse-drawn omnibus, which was basically a city version of the stagecoach. Manhattan had its first horsecar line in 1832. By the early 1850s, horsecar lines had been spreading throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Horse Railroad of Fryeburg, Maine, 1887-1917 - postcard above
postmarked October 22, 1909, Collection of  PWM

     Many forms of "horseless" cars were tried over many years. The system that ultimately won out was the electrically-fed trolley car designed by Frank Julian Sprague and first put into large-scale operation in Richmond, VA, beginning in January 1888.

     Seashore Trolley Museum's extensive collection includes railway vehicles and buildings that were built and were part of the fabric of public transportation throughout TR's life.
Trolley description details from the Seashore Trolley Museum website, guide to the Seashore Trolley Museum Collection, and from Historic Cars by Ben Minnich.
Theodore Roosevelt's timeline info was taken from the NPS Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline.

Theodore Roosevelt (Left)                               Seashore Trolley Museum Collection (Right)
Timelines (abridged)

Click Here for the 28th East 20th Street - site                             see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the TR's First Visit to Maine - site                        in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for the Island Falls, Maine, began in 1878 - site           and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter

                                                      To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places, Click Here
Click Here for the TR visits MDI - site                                      see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the TR's wife, Alice Lee, related   site                      in the Museum's Collection, Click here
Click Here for the Dakota Territories related   site                         and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
                                                                                         Click Here for a brief history of the Mousam River RR

                                                     To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places, Click Here
Click Here for the Elkhorn Ranch - site                                    see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the TR's wife, Edith Carrow - site                         in the Museum's Collection Click Here
                                                                                         and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
                                                                                                   
                                           To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places, Click Here
Click Here for the Rough Riders - site                                     see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the Spanish-American War - site                          in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for the Remember the Maine - site                          and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
                                                                                  Click Here for a brief history of the Biddeford & Saco RR

Part 2 - 1901-1909

Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline and Parallels with
Seashore Trolley Museum's Historic Railway Collection

On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot in Buffalo, NY.
He succumbs and dies from his wound. On September 14, 1901, Vice
President Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States
when he was sworn into office at Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo, NY. He is
the youngest to become President (age 42).  PWM

    Seashore Trolley Museum's extensive collection includes railway vehicles and buildings that were built and were part of the fabric of public transportation throughout TR's life.
Trolley description details from the Seashore Trolley Museum website, guide to the Seashore Trolley Museum Collection, and from Historic Cars by Ben Minnich.
Theodore Roosevelt's timeline info was taken from the NPS Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline.

Theodore Roosevelt utilized rail transportation throughout his life.
On August 18, 1914, TR was a passenger on the Narcissus from
Lewiston (ME) to Portland (ME). He would ride a PLI
interurban again on August 31, 1916, this time, No. 16, Clematis,  from Portland (ME) to
Kennebunkport, Maine.

Theodore Roosevelt (Left)                               Seashore Trolley Museum Collection (Right)
Timelines (abridged)

Click Here for the TR 26th President of the U.S.   site            see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the Crater Lake National Park (NP) - site             in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for the Newlands Reclamation Act - site                  and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
Click Here for the TR Dam - Salt River - site                                      Click Here - Tower C Travels to STM
Click Here for the POTUS TR Visit ME August 1902     Click Here - Northampton Station Travels to STM                                                                                                                 
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Biddeford - site                      see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Old Orchard Beach - site           in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Portland - site                        and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Auburn- site
Click Here for the POTUS TR visit Lewiston - site
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Lisbon Falls - site
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Brunswick - site
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Augusta - site
Click Here for the POTUS TR visits Waterville - site
Click Here for the POTUS visits Bangoe - site
Click Here for the POTUS visits Ellsworth - site

                                         To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places, Click Here
Click Here for the Wind Cave NP - site                                         see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the Alaskan Boundary Dispute - site                      in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for  Sully Hill NP (White Horse Hill GP 1921)        and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
Click Here for the Santo Domingo Treaty - site         Click here for a brief history of the PD&Y St. Rwy 
                                                                                        
                                           To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places, Click Here
Click Here for the  Russo-Japanese Peace Treaty  site                            see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the U. S. National Forest Service  - site                      in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for the Wichita Forest & GP  site                                  and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter  
Click Here for the Platt NP (Became Chickasaw NRA - site 
Click Here for the Chickasaw National Recreation Area - site
Click Here for the Yosemite NP - site                           Click here for a brief history of Atlantic Shore Railway
Click Here for the Mesa Verde NP - site                    
Click Here for the Antiquities Act - site                                    
Click Here for the First 18 National Monuments - site                  
Click Here for the Devil's Tower NM - site                               
Click Here for the El Morro NM - site                  
Click Here for the Chaco Canyon NM - site 
Click Here for the Petrified Forest NM - site 
Click Here for the Montezuma Castle NM - site 

Click Here for the POTUS TR accepts the Nobel Peace Prize - site          to see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the Lassen Peak NM (became NP) - site                      in the Museum's Collection Click here              
Click Here for the Cliff Dwellers NM - site                                     and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
Click Here for the Tonto NM - site 
Click Here for the First Conference of Governors (scroll down a page or two) - site 
Click Here for the National Conservation Commission - site 

         To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places, Click Here
Click Here for the Grand Canyon NM (became NP) - site                 to see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the Muir Woods NM - site                                         in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for the Pinnacles NM (became NP) - site                  and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
Click Here for the Jewel Cave NM - site                                    Click here for the history of the         
Click Here for the Natural Bridges NM - site                         Aroostook Valley Railroad
Click Here for the Lewis and Clark Cavern - NM - site
Click Here for the Tumacacori NM - site
Click Here for the Wheeler NM (now part of Rio Grande NF) - site
Click Here for the Mount Olympus NM (became NP) - site
Click Here for the former POTUS TR goes on an African Safari - site

Part 3 - 1910-1919

Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline and Parallels with
Seashore Trolley Museum's Historic Railway Collection

Theodore Roosevelt utilized rail transportation throughout
his life. He addresses an assembled crowd on August 18
 1914, in Gray, ME. TR is aboard the Portland-Lewiston
Interurban, No. 14, Narcissus. He would also ride a PLI 
interurban, No. 16, Clematis, on August 31, 1916. 
The Narcissus is currently undergoing restoration at
in Kennebunkport, Maine.

    Seashore Trolley Museum's extensive collection includes railway vehicles and buildings that were built and were part of the fabric of public transportation throughout TR's life.
Trolley description details from the Seashore Trolley Museum website, guide to the Seashore Trolley Museum Collection, and from Historic Cars by Ben Minnich.
Theodore Roosevelt's timeline info was taken from the NPS Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline.

The National Register of Historic Places member, No. 14,
Narcissus, of the famous Portland-Lewiston Interurban.
Above, Narcissus is at Monument Square in Portland, ME.
Theodore Roosevelt visited Monument Square on a handful
of visits to Maine. On August 18, 1914, TR traveled to
Monument Square, while a passenger on the Narcissus. On
August 31, 1916, TR boarded No. 16, Clematis, of the PLI,
then traveled to Lewiston, ME.

Theodore Roosevelt (Left)                               Seashore Trolley Museum Collection (Right)
Timelines (abridged)
                       Click Here for the TR Visit to ME August 1912      see more details on any of the vehicles
                                                                                             Museum's Collection Click Here
                                                                                             and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter                                                                      
Click Here for the TR to Gray, ME 8/18/1914 - site               see more details on any of the vehicles
                                                                                             Museum's Collection Click Here
                                                                                             and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
                                                                                               Click Here - Portland-Lewiston Interurban
                                                                                 Click Here - National Register of Historic Places

Click Here for the TR being a passenger on the Clematis - site          see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the TR with Four prominent Mainers - site                 in the Museum's Collection Click Here
Click Here for the TR Presidential Library-related post                    and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
                                                                                                           Click Here - Aroostook Valley Railroad
                                                                                                           Click Here - National Register of Historic Places

Click Here for the TR visits Dark Harbor 1918 - site               see more details on any of the vehicles
Click Here for the Belfast Historical Society - site                       in the Museum's Collection Click Here
                                                                                           and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
                                                                                                 Click Here - PLI Morrison Hill Station
                                                                                                 Click Here - Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI) 

                                                                                      To see more details on any of the vehicles
                                                                                              Museum's Collection Click Here
                                                                                              and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter
                                                                                                   Click Here - York Utilities Company
                                                                                                   Click Here - National Register of Historic Places 

A portion of my collection of TR-related books :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click Here: For the list of links to Theodore Roosevelt Maine Heritage Trail Posts in Easy Order to View

Click Here: For the post with the numerous Novelty Notes Connecting Theodore Roosevelt, Maine, and the "Elegant Ride," Narcissus

We continue the restoration work on the 1912 Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts

More than a century old, the stately "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents first captivate, fascinate, then generate interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by donating today!

Click Here: Donation Options

The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition narratives.

Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project

Click Here: 3rd Grade Lesson Plans - Example for the Vocabulary Activities that apply to all Grades 3-8

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
 Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive

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