Mt. Rushmore

To promote tourism in South Dakota, a man named Doane Robinson came up with the idea of a huge carving in the Black Hills of 4 United States presidents.  Chosen to represent the first 150 years of American history were presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borgium was hired to to design and lead the project.

Over 400 workers began work on the project in 1927 and the first face was completed in 1934. The last face was not completed until 5 years later in 1939. Originally, the carvings were to be of the 4 presidents from head to waist, but Gutzon died in March, 1941 and construction was halted for a short time. Gutzon's son, Lincoln Borgium took over leadership of the project, but funding was depleted by October, 1941 so work was stopped and the carving remains today as it was at that point.

Welcome to Mt. Rushmore, Lil Dude!

Robinson's idea has been an outstanding success as Mt. Rushmore is visited by over 2 million people each year and the huge carving has become an iconic symbol of America.

Heading up to famous Mt. Rushmore

The walkway to the overlook

From the viewing area

To get a much better & closer look, you need to walk
the Presidential Trail.

The Presidential Trail is a bit of a walk with a number of
stairs, but very worth it!

If you haven't been to Mt. Rushmore, Lil Dude Troll says
you should add it to your Bucket List!