Sculpted Heads Of The Four US Presidents In Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore, the President's Mountain, is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was the brainchild of Doane Robinson, known as the “Father of Mount Rushmore.” His goal was to create an attraction that would draw people from all over the country to his state. Robinson contacted Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who was working on the monument at Stone Mountain, GA. Borglum met with Robinson during 1924 and 1925. He was the one who identified Mount Rushmore as a perfect location for a grand monument.

Mount Rushmore is representative of the first 150 years of U.S. history, containing the 18 m, or 60-foot, sculpted heads of four United States presidents, namely: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. George Washington was chosen because he was the one who led the nation to democracy; Thomas Jefferson, because he authored the Declaration of Independence; Abraham Lincoln because he brought to an end slavery in the U.S.; and Theodore Roosevelt, because he was the one who advanced the cause of the construction of the Panama Canal as well as promoted the causes of conservation and business.


This project was started by Gutzon Borglum along with about 400 workers in the year 1927. It took more than 14 years to carve out the 60-foot sculpted heads of the four presidents. The workers first created an egg-shaped mass of the rock as the base of the heads. Then, the rocks were blasted by specialists to within a few inches of the actual measurements. Then they used tools like air powered hammers, hammers, wedges, and nails to carve out the finished heads. During the process, about 800 million pounds of rock was removed.

Each of the sculptured heads is as high as a 6-story building. When measured from the top of the head to the chin, each sculpture is as high as the Great Sphinx of Egypt. The eyes measure 11 feet across, the mouth of each is 18 feet in width, and each President’s nose measures 20 feet in length. The sculpture cost $989,992.32 to build. The monument was deemed complete and ready for dedication on October 31, 1941. The entire Mount Rushmore National Memorial lies over 1,278 acres, which is managed by the National Park Service. It attracts about 2 million visitors annually. There is a cave behind the carving called the "Hall of Records." It was intended to house the story of Mount Rushmore but was never completed due to lack of funding.
Sculpted Heads Of The Four US Presidents In Mount Rushmore Sculpted Heads Of The Four US Presidents In Mount Rushmore Reviewed by Vasanth on December 08, 2013 Rating: 5