We’re continuing the Mount Rushmore history this month; last month we posted information here about two important people to the monument. This month, we’ll share a bit more information about how Gutzon Borglum’s (the sculptor) family was also involved at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial - Photo by SD Tourism

Lincoln Borglum
Gutzon Borglum’s son, Lincoln, first traveled to the Black Hills when he was 12 years old. He actually hiked around with his dad in search of the perfect mountain and was with him when Gutzon laid eyes on “Rushmore.” As a young man, he worked alongside his dad: first as pointer, transferring complicated measurements on the mountain and then as a project supervisor. When his father died in 1941, he finished the carving as we know it today by putting the final touches on the four faces. At the age of 29, Lincoln became the first National Park Service superintendent at Mount Rushmore and served in that role until 1944.

Mary Ellis Borglum Vhay
While her brother, Lincoln, contributed mightily to Mount Rushmore during the carving years, Mary Ellis’s efforts made an impact later on. In 1986, she renewed the interest in completing the Hall of Records which Gutzon Borglum had originally planned to build behind the carving. It was to be an elaborate 80 x 100-foot room with bronze and glass cabinets displaying the complete records of the U.S., including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and why and how Mount Rushmore was carved. Only a 75-foot deep cave was a result of Borglum’s dream. Due to his daughter’s efforts, the Hall was finally finished in 1998, but on a smaller scale. Today, 16 porcelain enamel panels etched with the text of U.S. documents, biographies of each of the four presidents and the explanation of how and why Mount Rushmore was carved are buried within a teakwood box within the Hall of Records’ chamber.

The next post on the history of Mount Rushmore will focus on the faces of the four presidents that are carved into the mountain side. You’ll learn how the four faces represent birth, growth, preservation and development of America.

This is the second part in a series of Mount Rushmore history posts. The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society allowed us to share these great pieces of history about Mount Rushmore National Memorial, visit their website for more information. They can also be found on facebook by searching for “Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society.”

For ideas and trip planning tools for your South Dakota vacation, visit www.travelsd.com, follow us on twitter @travelsd or “like” us on facebook by searching for South Dakota Tourism.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial – Photo by SD Tourism

Doane Robinson
Usually Mount Rushmore is attributed to the genius of Gutzon Borglum, but without the influence of a humble state historian named Duane Robinson, the idea might never have gotten its start. In 1923, while secretary and superintendent of the State Historical Society of South Dakota, Doane had the idea to carve western figures on the “Needles” (granite spires) in Custer State Park to draw tourism dollars to the state. He envisioned grand people like Buffalo Bill Cody, Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea in stone. Encouraged by other politicians, Doane shared his dream with sculptor Gutzon Borglum who molded the historian’s vision into what we see today.
(Source: Gutzon Borglum: His Life and Work)

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum
The month of October is a significant one in telling the story of sculptor Gutzon Borglum. The carving of Mount Rushmore began on October 4, 1927 and ended on October 31, 1941 not long after his death. Born in 1867 to Danish immigrants, he ventured to California at the age of 16 and began pursuing art in the form of painting. Although he is mainly known for carving Mount Rushmore, his art legacy also included oil painting, line drawings, gargoyles and other national monuments. After studying in Europe, Borglum fell in love with Mary Montgomery Borglum who went with him on his quest in planning a momentous sculpture at Stone Mountain, Georgia which was to be a tribute to the confederate army. After an argument with the association that contracted him for the project and promptly throwing the models off the mountain, Gutzon Borglum fled Georgia and turned his eyes to where his dream of carving a mountain was sure to be realized – Mount Rushmore.

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society allowed us to share these great pieces of history about Mount Rushmore National Memorial, visit their website for more information. They can also be found on facebook by searching for “Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society.”

For ideas and trip planning tools for your South Dakota vacation, visit www.travelsd.com, follow us on twitter @travelsd or “like” us on facebook by searching for South Dakota Tourism.