39 Wonderful Facts About Mount Rushmore You Did Not Know

Mount Rushmore is one of the most historic places to visit, it's nestled in the black hills of the South Dakota city.

The Mount Rushmore national memorial is very famous for paying its tribute to the four of the most influential united states presidents. Faces of the very famous Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and well-known leader Abraham Lincoln can be seen on the mountain.

Mount Rushmore is a very significant part of American history since it shows the faces of four of the most loved leaders. This memorial on usual days is filled with visitors to see the four presidents, the nightly lighting ceremony makes the entire experience a little bit more serene.

The sculpture was carved and completed in the period of 1927 to 1941. Initially, the monument was designed and created by the famous sculptor Gutzon Borglum with the support of the sculpting of his son.

Facts about Mount Rushmore

When the talk and planning of the Mount Rushmore national memorial came, the idea of putting the face of four presidents came into the picture.

• In the year 1923, the rapid city of South Dakota didn't have many tourists attractions.
• During that time historian, Doane Robinson came up with an idea to create the mount Rushmore national memorial to make South Dakota a place of tourists' interest.
• The same idea worked wonderfully and today more than three million people visit the monument on a yearly basis.
• Although, the earlier idea supported to sculpt some western heroes and not the four presidents which we see today.
• Thus, the initial sculptures which were to be made were of western heroes and not the presidents.
• During this time, the search for famous sculptors began to help with the project.
• One of them was the Danish American Gutzon Borglum, who thought the model won't work and is flawed.
• It was then that Borglum came into the picture. Borglum loved the idea of carving on a mountain and thought the sculptures should be of the four presidents and not any western heroes.
• Borglum pitched the idea to sculpt Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt.
• The president which was chosen for it was carefully picked seeing the work they have done for the country seeing their expansion and preservation of the country.

Mount Rushmore's History

The four presidents were chosen by Borglum since he believed a work this big should gain the attention of the entire country.

• The carving of Mount Rushmore was done by almost 400 men.
• The whole work was done so fantastically that there were no deaths during the carving of the mountain.
• The men who were chosen to carve mount Rushmore were previously experienced men who came to Black Hill hoping to mine some gold.
• Although, the work on mount Rushmore was done with the utmost patience and skill, the national park is full of cracks and might fall apart if regular maintenance isn't done on time.
• In order to make that happen, someone significant and someone who contributed greatly to the country should be chosen to be sculpted at the mount Rushmore national memorial.
• It's fair to say that a fine amount of work went behind, in giving this national park the world-renowned image it carries today. The Mount Rushmore national memorial was dedicated and opened for the entire world on 31 October 1941.
• Apart from the Rushmore national memorial, there are many other things to experience in South Dakota, one of which is the famous Custer state park. However, out of all the state parks and national parks, the Rushmore national memorial stands out since it carries a very important element of US history.
• Although, earlier the mountain was open for camping and hiking, however now it's strictly forbidden.
• One can not hike or camp with any sort of tools on the national memorial, neither can one hike till the summit.
• There are well-defined trails especially made for visitors to have them land just on the right corner of the mountain to catch the right glimpse of the four presidents.

Hidden Facts About Mount Rushmore

There are some hidden facts which surfaced after the making of Mount Rushmore was completed.

• During the making of the sculptures, the sculpture Borglum left a secret chamber behind the head of Abraham lincoln.
• The same chamber is inaccessible and was carefully and on purpose created as a dedicated chamber to the history of the united states.
• The room is situated just behind the head of Abraham Lincoln. However, the same room is inaccessible to anyone else.
• The figures which were to be sculptured were chosen based on their contribution, preservation to the US democracy.
• One cannot hike or do camping in those restricted areas, since the memorial is very important to America, the country expects visitors to remain respectful and abide by the rules.
• The idea behind creating the mount Rushmore national memorial was to represent the democratic history of America and for that.
• The country chose four of its most beloved presidents which are Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham lincoln.
• The monument is around 5,725 ft (1744.98 m) above sea level and each face is around 60 ft (18.2 m) in height.
• Their facial structures are also given a detailed approach, with the nose longer than 20 ft (6 m) and the width of their face being 18 ft (5.4 m). Although, the entire mount Rushmore national memorial isn't that huge.

Facts About The Sculptor

Here are some interesting facts about sir Lincoln Borglum and the Mount Rushmore sculptor.

• During the making of the Mount Rushmore sculpture, the sculptor Sir Lincoln Borglum often hired men with no previous skills in the genre.
• They found a group of men who earlier came to Black Hills looking for gold.
• However, since around 90% of the mountain is full of dynamite, they had to remove around almost 450,000 tons (408233133 kg) of rock matter.
• One of the interesting facts about the making of the sculpture is, during that time, young boys were hired simply to shout messages back and forth.
• The sculptor constructed a secret room behind mount Rushmore, the same room is also famously known as the secret room.
• This room is all time no-entry zone for everyone and no one can enter it. The sculptor made the room as a dedication to US history.
• Together they oversaw the entire project on the mountain, carving the granite and giving American democracy a monument to visit year after year.
• The making of the Rushmore national memorial was a bit of a task for the sculptor's studio which was overseeing this project.
• It was essential to carve the sculpture in a way that it gets maximum exposure from the sun.
• The presidential trail at the Rushmore national memorial in keystone was made from two kinds of rocks.
• The two kinds of stones are old granite and the other one is a much older and very aged version of metamorphic rock.