Mount Rushmore: The Mountain They Carved Into Presidents
Mount Rushmore exists because a historian wanted to attract tourists to the Black Hills. Doane Robinson proposed carving famous figures into granite spires; sculptor Gutzon Borglum selected the mountain and the presidents. From 1927 to 1941, workers dangled from cables, drilling and dynamiting granite to create 60-foot faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. The mountain was sacred to the Lakota, who consider the carving a desecration of stolen land. Borglum, who had carved Confederate leaders at Stone Mountain and had Klan associations, chose the presidents for their roles in American expansion. The contradictions don't diminish the spectacle: four granite faces staring across the Black Hills, American ambition writ in blasted stone, a monument to empire on land taken by empire.
The Vision
Doane Robinson, South Dakota's state historian, conceived the monument in 1923 as a tourist attraction. He envisioned carvings of Western heroes - Lewis and Clark, Buffalo Bill, Red Cloud - on the granite spires called the Needles. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles as too fragile and chose Mount Rushmore for its smooth granite and southeastern exposure that would catch light. Borglum selected the four presidents: Washington for founding the nation, Jefferson for expansion, Lincoln for preservation, Roosevelt for the Panama Canal and conservation. The carving began in 1927; Borglum supervised until his death in 1941. His son Lincoln finished the project seven months later.
The Carving
Building Mount Rushmore required removing 450,000 tons of granite. Workers reached the cliff face via a 760-step stairway, then descended by cable to work surfaces where they drilled and dynamited. The process was precise: dynamite removed rock to within inches of final surfaces, then workers honeycomb-drilled and chiseled the finish. No workers died from falls despite the dangerous conditions, though several succumbed to silicosis from granite dust years later. The project cost under $1 million (90% federal funds) and employed 400 workers over 14 years. The rubble pile below the faces contains most of the removed rock; there are no plans to move it.
The Controversies
Mount Rushmore occupies the Black Hills, land guaranteed to the Lakota by the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, then seized after gold was discovered. The Supreme Court ruled the taking illegal in 1980 and ordered compensation; the Lakota refused payment, demanding land return. The mountains remain sacred; the carvings are, to many Native Americans, vandalism of stolen property. Borglum's history compounds the issue: he worked on Stone Mountain's Confederate memorial and had Ku Klux Klan connections. The four presidents carved into the mountain all advanced policies that harmed Indigenous peoples. The monument celebrates a version of American history that requires forgetting other versions.
The Legacy
Nearly 3 million visitors annually make Mount Rushmore one of America's most-visited monuments. The faces are iconic - referenced, parodied, reproduced endlessly. They represent American achievement, American arrogance, or both, depending on perspective. The nearby Crazy Horse Memorial, begun in 1948 to honor a Lakota leader, remains unfinished - the face complete, the horse's outline emerging. When finished, it will dwarf Rushmore. The juxtaposition - completed presidential monument, incomplete Native memorial - captures something about American priorities. Both carvings reshape mountains into messages. Both claim the Black Hills for particular stories.
Visiting Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, roughly 25 miles southwest of Rapid City via US-16. Admission is free; parking costs $10 per vehicle. The Avenue of Flags leads to the Grand View Terrace for the classic view. The Presidential Trail provides closer views and different angles. The Sculptor's Studio preserves Borglum's workshop and plaster models. Evening lighting programs run summer through early fall. The Black Hills offer extensive attractions: Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, Deadwood, Wind Cave. Rapid City provides lodging and services. Visit early morning for best light and thinner crowds.
From the Air
Located at 43.88°N, 103.46°W in the Black Hills of South Dakota. From altitude, Mount Rushmore appears as a light-colored granite outcrop on a forested ridge - the carved faces visible as geometric shapes distinct from natural rock. The parking area and visitor facilities are visible at the base. The surrounding Black Hills rise as an island of mountains in the Great Plains, the dark ponderosa pine forests giving them their name. The rubble pile below the faces marks where 450,000 tons of granite fell. Crazy Horse Memorial is visible 8 miles to the southwest, its emerging form larger but less complete. The Black Hills spread in all directions - sacred mountains carved into monuments.