In the summer of 1900, Theodore Roosevelt, then Governor of New York and recently named candidate for Vice President on the Republican ticket headed by William McKinley, welcomed his old friend, William Dudley Foulke, to his summer home at Oyster Bay, Long Island. Foulke, who had lived in Richmond, Indiana since 1876, had worked in the Civil Service Reform movement with the young Roosevelt, and at least part of the reason for his visit was to invite him to stop in Richmond during his upcoming campaign tour through Indiana. Roosevelt accepted.

On October 11, a very enthusiastic crowd from all over the area welcomed Governor Roosevelt to Richmond. The festivities began with a parade that was said to be the largest to that date. At 1:45 in the afternoon Roosevelt's train arrived, and he was escorted to what was then known as Military Park, because it was where visiting army regiments had encamped over the years. A platform had been erected near where today's stage is located, making a natural amphitheater. Judge Henry C. Fox introduced the candidate, and Roosevelt spoke for about twenty minutes. Estimates of the crowd size ranged from 15,000 to 25,000.