Interesting Facts About Mount Rushmore National Monument, Keystone, SD
People Wanted Mount Rushmore to Feature Local Heroes Initially, people wanted the mountain to feature sculpted faces of individuals who were relevant to the West. Doane Robinson, a South Dakota historian, suggested Buffalo Bill Cody, Sioux chief Red Cloud, William Clark, and Meriwether Lewis for the monument. However, when Gutzon Borglum signed on as lead sculptor for the project, he decided to sculpt the United States' four presidents to attract people from all over the US to the monument.Susan B. Anthony was Supposed to Be on the Mountain as Well .Susan B. Anthony was a famous advocate for women's voting rights and a critical payer in the suffragette movement. Due to her important place in American history, a bill was proposed in 1937 to feature her on Mount Rushmore and the presidents. However, this couldn't happen since an existing congress bill stated that federal funds could only be spent on the work that had already begun on the project.
Local Native Americans Don't Support the Sculpture While the monument was being built, the Lakota Sioux Native American tribe strongly opposed cutting into the sacred Black Hills. They were particularly against putting the faces of individuals who were proponents of the Native American genocide on their holy mountain. Despite their strong opposition, the controversial site was erected.
Dynamite Was Used to Blast the Mountain Workers used dynamite to blast about 450,000 tons of rock from the mountain to sculpt the faces. Most of the debris from the blasted rocks was left in a massive heap at Mount Rushmore's base. This dangerous demolition work employed around 400 workers.
President Lincoln's Head Holds a Secret Room Borglum had a remarkable vision for Mount Rushmore National Monument. He wanted to build an 80-foot-tall and 100-foot-long secret room behind President Lincoln's head. He envisioned this room to hold America's most vital documents and wanted it to be widely known as the Hall of Records.
Even though workers started carving a 70-foot-long cavern behind Lincoln's head, Borglum's plan couldn't be realized since they ran out of money, and he also died mid-project. However, 16 porcelain panels were installed inside the hall in 1998. They explain the history of Mount Rushmore and the US. This hall is sadly not open to the public.
Other Interesting Facts ,here are some more facts about Mount Rushmore National Monument:
Even though it seems like President Roosevelt is wearing glasses, it's merely an illusion. Borglum carved the edges of the frame and the bridge of the glasses to give the appearance that he is wearing them.
Mount Rushmore is an unfinished monument. Borglum wanted to carve the presidents' bodies in the mountain as well, but he ran out of funding to do so.
Each president's head on Mount Rushmore is 60 feet tall. Mount Rushmore's monument is an undeniable homage to the American legacy that you must explore when you visit Keystone, SD!