Mount Rushmore's Story

Known originally to Native Americans as Six Grandfathers Mountain, Mt. Rushmore was renamed in 1885 for New York lawyer Charles E. Rushmore after an expedition he led. Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea of a large stone sculpture for the State in hopes of increasing tourism. Robinson selected scultptor Gutzon Borglum due to his previous experience creating the Confederate Memorial carving.

A location called The Needles in the Black Hills was originally suggested by Robinson for the sculpture but Borglum concluded it was to small and unstable to support such a grand project. Borglum suggested Mount Rushmore instead. Another reason for his choice was that the mountain faced southeast resulting it in getting the most possible sunlight. It was also made out of granite, making it resistant to erosion.

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission was approved by Congress in 1925 and work was set to begin. As terms of the deal, President Coolidge required two Republicans and one Democrat be sculpted along with Washington. The additional faces chosen by Borglum would include Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln for their part in the creation and expansion of the nation. Together, these presidents represented the first 150 years of American history.

Borglum used an ancient Greek method to plan the sculpture. He created a plaster model of the mountain, and carved out the intended design. One inch on the model represented one foot on the mountain. For the carving of the full-size sculpture, over 400 men would be employed at any given time. Dynamite was used to remove the majority of the excess granite in the mountain. The process involved drilling precision holes to within 3 inches of what would eventually be the finished surface. Once the holes were drilled, they would be packed with explosives and ignited.

By the time the project was complete, over 800 million tones of granite would be removed this way. The finishing touches were done with chisels to eventually smooth the surface further. Miraculously, even with the dangerous methods employed and rudimentary safety standards of the day, not one worker was killed.

Washington’s face was unveiled from under a super-sized US flag on July 4, 1934. This was the first of the dedication ceremonies, with the last dedication taking place until 1939, with the face of Theodore Roosevelt. In 1941 Gutzon Borglum suddenly passed away. His son, Lincoln Borglum was asked to take over the project. Borglum Jr. led the work to completion, with the last carving taking place on October 31, 1941.

Originally the project was slated to take 6 years and cost $500,000. 14 years and $989,992 later, the project was finished. Even with a huge cost overrun, the project was still scaled back. The original Mt. Rushmore was to include the Presidents from head to waist, but this was changed to just their head and shoulders to save time and money. If the full body of the Presidents were carved out at the same scale as their heads, the sculpture would be over 465 feet high.

Maintaining the monument is an ongoing battle. Cracks have inevitably started forming, and they must be constantly filled with a silicone based compound to prevent water from entering and freezing, worsening the damage. To monitor the 144 cracks in the monument there are 8,000 feet of hidden copper wiring covering the sculpture. The cables pass information back to engineers about the worsening of any cracks so they can be quickly filled. The copper wires the system uses introduces new problems, however. Copper corrodes quickly, and during electrical storms, direct hits to the wires actually worsen the cracks. To resolve this, fiber optic cables are replacing the copper ones. These cables are more resistant to mother nature and don’t conduct electricity. The monument has only been cleaned once in its lifetime. In 2005 a German cleaning machine company offered to wash the monument for free. Using 200°F pressurized water, Kärcher GmbH freshened up the sculpture.

Every year more than 2 million people travel to South Dakota to marvel at Mt. Rushmore. The Lincoln Borglum Museum is located by the memorial. One of the best locations for viewing Mt. Rushmore is located above the museum at Grandview Terrace. The Presidential Trail, a walking trail and boardwalk, starts at Grandview Terrace and travels through the forests to the Sculptor's Studio, providing up-close views of the memorial. The Sculptor's studio built by Gutzon Borglum features discussion about the construction of the monument and the tools used by workers.

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