New Yorker Teddy Roosevelt first came to North Dakota in 1883 to hunt bison. In 1884, when his wife and his mother died on the same night, he was devastated. Leaving his newborn daughter in the care of his sister, he sought solace in North Dakota. He spent two years riding the prairie and herding cattle. His love of the west endeared him to the populace outside of the east coast. He said, “I never would have been President, if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota”. In 1978, President Carter established this land as a National Park.