News
FDR almost visits the area again
Jul 10, 2026
From the history files…
In early July of 1938 – 88 years ago – residents living in and around the future Grand Lake region in Northeast Oklahoma were gearing up to welcome a very special presidential visit. Unfortunately, it was a visit that never came to be.
Planning a presidential visit … Pictured here on his presidential train, President Franklin D. Roosevelt first visited the Grand River area in June 1936, when he made a quick stop in Vinita. Then, in July 1938 – 88 years ago this week – he planned to return.
The visitor was President Franklin D. Roosvelt (FDR), and the occasion was going to be a special rally, held in Vinita on Sunday, July 10. An article printed a few weeks earlier (June 6), in the Craig County Democrat noted that the visit was highly likely, based on correspondence with the president’s secretary, Mr. M.H. McIntyre. A dispatch from the Associated Press also highlighted the president’s upcoming visit to Vinita.
It all made sense, considering FDR already had a connection with the area. In fact, roughly two years earlier, in June 1936, his presidential train had stopped at Vinita on a Saturday night, where he was met by hundreds of area residents who encouraged him to support the Grand River (Pensacola) Dam project. That stop only lasted a few minutes, but it was productive and, in 1937, FDR authorized federal funding for the project.
Now, he was coming back to the area and this time he planned to stay longer. Various sources indicated he would even speak for an entire hour during the Vinita rally, after spending most of the day in the Grand River area. By that point, construction on the dam was in its initial stages. As you might imagine, excitement for the presidential visit was growing all across the area.
However, schedules and itineraries can change, and such was the case in July of 1938. FDR’s train rolled out of Washington, D.C. on July 7, headed for Marietta, Ohio. He spoke there the next day, to help commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Northwest Territory. A day later he was in Kentucky, where he campaigned for Senator Alben Barkley, who was in a heated primary to retain his seat against Governor Happy Chandler. Barkley would win that race and, later in his career, serve as President Harry’s Truman’s vice president.
But back to FDR … After his Kentucky visit, the train’s next stop was in Oklahoma, but not in Vinita. Instead, FDR made an appearance in Oklahoma City on July 10, where he spoke of his support for Senator Elmer Thomas, who was running for reelection. By the way, Thomas was also instrumental in helping to secure funding for the Grand River Dam project. After that stop, FDR’s train headed south to Texas and then on to California.
The return visit to the Grand River area never happened.
However, the impact of the nation’s 32nd president is still visible today, from Pensacola Dam and all across the Grand River area.