Mount Rushmore National Memorial / A monument commemorating the conception, preservation, and growth of the great American republic

by Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society of the Black Hills

Scaffolding suspended from cables enabled the workmen to reach down from the brow of the mountain in order to carry on their courageous and difficult labors.

That autumn a group of Rapid City women put on a pageant of flags, designed by Mr. Borglum, on the top of the cliff to show the different epochs through which the territory had passed. The French flag was first hoisted, then the Spanish, then the flag of Napoleon, next the colonial flag and finally the present flag of the United States. Thus was Mount Rushmore officially dedicated to the Memorial. Mr Borglum then returned to his temporary studio in San Antonio, Texas, to make the models and decide what characters best illustrated the idea to which he was trying to give form.

George Washington’s presence in the group was inevitable. He was the rock on which the republic was founded—the plumb line to establish its direction. So on Mount Rushmore his head is exactly perpendicular, facing the east, unaffected by the others in the group, the measuring rod determining the position of the others. Equally important with Washington was Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. By the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, as stated above, he had taken the first step westward in the course of the nation’s growth. He is represented on the mountain as a young man. He was only 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Abraham Lincoln, the saviour of the republic, was inevitable in any record of the country’s history and finally Theodore Roosevelt was selected because, by cutting the Panama Canal, he had accomplished the dream of Columbus and opened a Sea-way from Europe to Asia and his name was closely linked with the territorial expansion following the war with Spain. He was also the first president to attempt the curbing of big business interests and the only president who had been familiar with the west. He had close associations with South Dakota.

Models in the studio at the foot of the mountain which guided construction of the actual figures (seen through window).

The Mount Harney Memorial Association was authorized in 1925 by the state legislature to undertake the project on Mount Rushmore. No funds were voted for the purpose. Contributions were obtained from the three railroads serving the state, from the Homestake Mine and from private individuals, among them Mr. Charles Rushmore, a New York lawyer, after whom, quite accidentally, the cliff had been named. The work went on slowly, with considerable opposition, until President Coolidge’s visit to the Black Hills in 1927. He made a splendid speech at a picturesque ceremony held at Rushmore, immediately following which he took Mr. Borglum aside, inquired about the financing and urged him to come to Washington for help. It is doubtful whether, without this impetus given by President Coolidge, the carving would ever have been accomplished.

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission came into existence as the result of a Congressional Bill, passed on Washington’s Birthday in 1929. The act carried an appropriation of $250,000 for the memorial, which was to be matched on a fifty-fifty basis by private subscriptions; it designated Gutzon Borglum as the sculptor and designer of the four figures and provided also for an inscription on the mountain.

The first ascent of the mountain was made up the canyon where the present wooden stairway now is. After the initial survey was made, pine trees with branches cut off and cleats nailed at right angles to the trees were laid in the crevices to serve as ladders. Heavy ropes were then carried by hand to the top and a small winch was carried as far as possible by pack horse and then carried to the top by hand. After this winch was fastened on the top of the mountain, it in turn was used to pull up the heavy cable that became the tramway from the ground to the mountain top. Building material was pulled up and shelters built for the men. A small studio was also built to house the plaster reproductions of the master models that were in the studio at the foot of the mountain. These reproductions were used for measurements to save time required to go to the studio 1500 feet away and 500 feet below. In some cases these models were hung over the side of the mountain so that they could be consulted and compared with the measurements as the actual stone work progressed. By this method it was possible to save considerable time and labor.