Mount Rushmore Source: National Park Service

One of the world's largest sculptures is located about 23 miles from Rapid City, South Dakota. Called Mount Rushmore, this sculpture, according to the National Park Service, "memorializes the birth, growth, preservation and development of the United States of America." When then-President Calvin Coolidge took part in the formal dedication of the project in 1927, he stated that he felt it was "decidedly American in its conception, magnitude, and meaning. It is altogether worthy of our country."

Mount Rushmore began as a dream of the superintendent of the South Dakota State Historical Society. He originally envisioned huge carvings of legendary western figures, such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Lewis and Clark, and several Sioux warriors. After sculptor Gutzon Borglum became involved, however, the decision was made to make the carvings on the South Dakota mountain, already named Mount Rushmore, appeal to people on a national level. Borglum's proposal was to carve four great figures of American history into the granite mountainside: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The site was formally dedicated in 1927, with President Coolidge declaring it a "national shrine" and pledging federal funding for the project.

Mount Rushmore was completed between 1927 and 1941, during which time about 400 local miners were recruited to work on the carving. Among other jobs, they built roads, took measurements, and set off dynamite charges used to quickly clear large amounts of rock. Surprisingly, there were no deaths, and not many injuries, during the entire time the project was being created.

Starting as a small model in sculptor Borglum's studio, the amazing faces on Mount Rushmore were carved into the mountainside. Each face is over 60 feet high; the face on the Statue of Liberty, in contrast, is only 17 feet tall. Each of the presidents' eyes is 11 feet across, their noses are 20 feet long, and each mouth is 18 feet wide. Washington, the nation's first president, is represented as he appeared during his presidency. Jefferson is shown with his eyes looking into the sky, representing his reputation as a visionary and a philosopher. Roosevelt, who at the time had only been dead 8 years, was sculpted from Borglum's memory, as the two had been close friends. Lincoln, the "Great Emancipator," is shown as he appeared during his tenure in office.

	Mount Rushmore – Side View (George Washington) Source: National Park Service

Today, visitors can hike on trails that lead from the front of the Monument to the back. More than 2.5 million people now visit Mount Rushmore each year. As an interesting side note, another monument is being carved in the Black Hills not far from Mount Rushmore. The Crazy Horse Memorial is currently being painstakingly created out of another mountain – commemorating Crazy Horse, a man who was a hero to many of the land's original Native American inhabitants. This is appropriate, as Gutzon Borglum had intended, after the completion of Mount Rushmore, to create his own memorial to the Sioux, but he died before that could happen.

Additional Web Resources

American Park Network
National Park Service: Mount Rushmore
PBS: American Experience: Mount Rushmore
The Crazy Horse Memorial

<<< Back to Celebrate America's Freedom