{"id":2255,"date":"2026-04-27T23:05:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T23:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/?page_id=2255"},"modified":"2026-04-27T23:05:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T23:05:24","slug":"focus-on-the-backroads-mount-rushmore-south-dakota","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/?page_id=2255","title":{"rendered":"FOCUS ON THE BACKROADS: MOUNT RUSHMORE – SOUTH DAKOTA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Located in the rugged beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mount Rushmore stands as one of America’s most recognizable landmarks. 60-foot sculptures of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are carved into the granite mountainside, each chosen to symbolize a defining chapter of the American story: Washington for the nations founding, Jefferson for expansion, Roosevelt for development, and Lincoln for preservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The massive undertaking was overseen by renowned sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who directed the project from 1927 until his death in 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, worked alongside him and later assumed leadership of the project. South Dakota Senator Peter nor beck played a critical role in securing federal funding and support for the monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Original model for the monument <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Construction officially began in 1927 and by 1939 the presidents’ faces had been completed. Original plans called for each figure to be sculpted from head to waist, but funding shortages forced the project to end on October 31, 1941. Today, only George Washington shows detailed carving below the chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A MONUMENT BUILT ON CONTESTED GROUNDS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although Mount Rushmore is celebrated as a symbol of American history, it also stands at the center of a long-standing cultural and political controversy. The mountain sits on land taken from the Sioux Nation during the 1870’s. Know to the Lakota people as “The Six Grandfathers,” the site held deep spiritual significance and symbolized the six sacred directions: north, south, east, west, above (sky) and below (earth). Under the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, the U.S. government granted the Sioux Nation exclusive use of the Black Hills in perpetuity. However, after gold was discovered in the area, the treaty was broken in 1877 as settlers and prospectors flooded into the area. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians that the seizure of the Black Hills required compensation. The court awarded the Sioux Nation $102million, but the tribal leadership refused the money, insisting that the land itself be returned. This dispute continues today, leading some critics to refer to Mount Rushmore as the “Shrine of Hypocrisy”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW MOUNT RUSHMORE GOT IT’S NAME<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The mountain was not originally called Mount Rushmore. In 1885, New York attorney Charles Rushmore was visiting the Black Hills while working with the Harney Peak Tin Company. While traveling near the mountain, he asked his guide for its name. The guide replied that it had no formal name and joked that it would now be called “Rushmore.” The name stuck and in June 1930 the United States Board of Geographic Names officially adopted the designation Mount Rushmore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE ORIGINAL VISION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ida for the monument was first promoted in 1923 by Doane Robinson, Secretary of the South Dakota State Historical Society. Robinson hoped to create a massive sculpture similar to Stone Mountain in Georgia in order to boost tourism in South Dakota. His original vision focused on heroes of the American West. Proposed figures included Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, Red Cloud, John Fremont, and Crazy Horse. Eventually the decision was made to honor four U.S. Presidents whose leadership shaped the nation. In 1933, the National Park Service officially assumed oversight over the project. At that point, Washington’s likeness had already been completed. Jefferson followed in 1936, Lincoln in 1937, and Roosevelt in 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A LASTING AMERICAN LANDMARK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The total cost of the Mount Rushmore project was $989,992.00 – roughly equivalent to $21.7 million today. Nearly three million visitors travel to Mount Rushmore each year, making it South Dakota’s leading tourist destination. Whether viewed as a patriotic monument, and engineering marvel, or a reminder of the American West’s complicated history, Mount Rushmore remains one of the most amazing stops along the BACK ROADS OF THE AMERICAN WEST!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mount Rushmore serves as a reminder that the greatness of America lies not only in its natural beauty but also in the courage and determination of its people.” Theodore Roosevelt<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Located in the rugged beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mount Rushmore stands as one of America’s most recognizable landmarks. 60-foot sculptures of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2257,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2255","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2255"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2268,"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2255\/revisions\/2268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusonthebackroads.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}