Mount Rushmore depicts the faces of four former Presidents (from left to right):
The four, 60-foot granite faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial symbolize freedom, democracy and the American dream. This mountain carving of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln draws more than three million visitors each year.
The first blast on the mountain occurred in 1927. Under the direction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, 400 workers labored through hot summers and cold winters to create the sculpture, nearly 500 feet up the side of the mountain. More than 90 percent of the mountain was carved using dynamite. The fine details of the faces were achieved with a jackhammer. Operators hung from the top of the mountain in bosun chairs held by steel cables. Despite the dangerous work, during the 14 years of construction, not a single person died. The memorial was officially declared complete on October 31, 1941.
However, Gutzon Borglum_fs vision was not totally completed ? original plans included head-to-waist depictions of the presidents. When Borglum died suddenly in July 1941, his son, Lincoln, tried to continue his father_fs work, but funding ran out as America entered World War II. Visitors wanting to see a model of Borglum_fs original dream can view it at the Sculptor_fs Studio located at the Memorial.
Another part of Borglum_fs grand vision was for a Hall of Records to be carved into the canyon behind the faces. Borglum envisioned a majestic room that held important documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Borglum started blasting the hall, but never finished it.
On August 9, 1998, Borglum_fs Hall of Records was somewhat completed when a repository was placed in the floor of the hall entry. Inside a titanium vault are sixteen porcelain enamel panels inscribed with the story of Mount Rushmore, the reasons for selecting the four presidents and a short history of the United States. The Hall of Records is not accessible to visitors, but is left as a record for people thousands of years from now.
Borglum chose these four men to carve into the mountainside because they represented the first 150 years of American history. George Washington was America_fs first president and a founding father of the nation. Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence ? the basis for the democracy. Jefferson was also responsible for the expansion of the union with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Abraham Lincoln was responsible for the preservation of the union by holding the country together during the Civil War, the most trying time in our nation_fs history. Theodore Roosevelt was chosen because he led the country during the explosive economic growth of the early 20th Century. He was also responsible for setting aside land for national parks so all generations could enjoy the beauty of the country.
Mount Rushmore is named after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York City attorney who was sent out to this area in 1884 to check legal titles on properties. On his way back to Pine Camp he asked Bill Challis the name of the mountain. Bill replied, "Never had a name but from now on we'll call it Rushmore." Mount Rushmore was a favorite place that many presidents visisted with their families.
The four granite faces that give the mountain its greatest claim to fame were carved over a 14-year period (October 4, 1927 - October 31, 1941) by over 400 workers under the supervision of Gutzon Borglum, an American sculptor. Each face is about 60 feet high; if the bodies were to be included, each figure would be about 460 feet high.
Mount Rushmore is a project of colossal proportion, colossal ambition and colossal achievement. It involved the efforts of nearly 400 men and women. The duties involved varied greatly from the call boy to drillers to the blacksmith to the housekeepers. Some of the workers at Mount Rushmore were interviewed, and were asked, "What is it you do here?" One of the workers responded and said, "I run a jackhammer." Another worker responded to the same question, " I earn $8.00 a day." However, a third worker said, "I am helping to create a Memorial." The third worker had an idea of what they were trying to accomplish.
The workers had to endure conditions that varied from blazing hot to bitter cold and windy. Each day they climbed 700 stairs to the top of the mountain to punch-in on the time clock. Then 3/8 inch thick steel cables lowered them over the front of the 500 foot face of the mountain in a "bosun chair". Some of the workers admitted being uneasy with heights, but during the Depression, any job was a good job.
The work was exciting, but dangerous, 90% of the mountain was carved using dynamite . The powdermen would cut and set charges of dynamite of specific sizes to remove precise amounts of rock.
Before the dynamite charges could be set off, the workers would have to be cleared from the mountain. Workers in the winch house on top of the mountain would hand crank the winches to raise and lower the drillers. If they went too fast, the drillers in their bosun chairs would be dragged up on their faces. To keep this from happening, young men and boys were hired as call boys. Call boys sat at the edge of the mountain and shout messages back and forth assuring safety. During the 14 years of construction not one fatality occurred.
Dynamite was used until only three to six inches of rock was left to remove to get to the final carving surface. At this point, the drillers and assistant carvers would drill holes into the granite very close together. This was called honeycombing. The closely drilled holes would weaken the granite so it could be removed often by hand.
After the honeycombing, the workers smoothed the surface of the faces with a hand facer or bumper tool. In this final step, the bumper tool would even up the granite, creating a surface as smooth as a sidewalk.
From 1927 to 1941 the 400 workers at Mount Rushmore were doing more than operating a jackhammer, they were doing more than earning $8.00 a day, they were building a Memorial that people from across the nation and around the world would come to see for generations.
Travelers on I-90 should exit at Rapid City and follow Highway 16 southwest to Keystone and then Highway 244 to Mount Rushmore. Travelers coming from the south should follow Highway 385 north to Highway 244, which is the road leading to the National Memorial.