Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Five-hundred feet (152 m) up a rock wall, four U.S. presidents peer stoically out over the Black Hills of South Dakota. The 60-foot-tall (18 m) heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were carved into the granite wall of Mount Rushmore, one of the highest peaks in the area, beginning October 4, 1927. The magnificent sculpture was born out of an idea conceived in 1923 by Doane Robinson, a local historian, who had hoped to attract more people to the colorful hills. Gutzon Borglum, a sculptor who teamed with Robinson, created a plaster model exactly one-twelfth the size of the project, from which the faces on the mountain would be made to scale.

Dynamite and manual carving tools were the primary methods Borglum and his men used to create the piece. Almost 400 men and women took park in the construction of this mammoth project. For these workers, the day began by walking 700 stairs just to reach the time clock. Once punched in, many were lowered by cables over the face of the mountain to begin their work. Surprisingly, despite the unconventional and sometimes harsh working conditions, no fatalities were ever recorded.

Nearly 12 years after the construction began, the final presidential carving, Roosevelt, was dedicated in a ceremony that included newly mounted lighting and fireworks. However, there were still finishing touches to be placed. After Borglum died in 1941, his son, Lincoln, took over his father’s dream and continued the work for seven months more, using up the remaining funds. In the fall of 1941, the carving tools were laid to rest and Mount Rushmore National Memorial was complete.

If You Go

National Park Service
www.nps.gov/moru