Description:
On May 7, 2025, the City of Huntington Beach hosted "Roosevelt in California," a special evening at the Huntington Beach Central Library Theater marking the first Theodore Roosevelt Day proclaimed by a California city. The event featured local author Chris Epting presenting his new book about Roosevelt's historic 1903 Great Loop Tour — a 14,000-mile, 24-state train journey that included a transformative three-day camping trip with naturalist John Muir in Yosemite, widely credited with sparking the conservation movement that gave rise to America's National Park System.
The evening included a live theatrical portrayal of President Roosevelt performed by actor Justin Reiner, historical photographs, original music composed by Epting, and a special appearance by Marcie Woehl from the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, which was then weeks from opening in Medora, North Dakota. Mayor Casey McKeon presented Will with a proclamation designating May 7th as Theodore Roosevelt Day — signed by all seven city council members.
Epting traces the remarkable connections between Roosevelt, the Huntington family, and the city's own origins: Collis Huntington's support of photographer Carleton Watkins led Abraham Lincoln to protect Yosemite, and just weeks after Roosevelt's Yosemite campfire with Muir in May 1903, Henry Huntington purchased what would soon be renamed Huntington Beach.
The event was organized by the Huntington Beach Celebration Committee as part of the city's America 250 semiquincentennial programming.