It was world-famous sculptor Gutzon Borglum's dream to carve sixty-foot-high likenesses of four presidents on a granite cliff in South Dakota. Does that sound like a wacky idea? Many at the time thought so. Borglum faced a lot of opposition and problems at every turn; the blasting and carving carried out through the years of the Great Depression when funding for anything was hard to come by. Yet Mount Rushmore now draws almost three million visitors to the Black Hills every year. This is an entertaining chronicle of one man's magnificent obsession, which even today sparks controversy. True Kelley is the author-illustrator of Who Was Pablo Picasso? and the author of Who Is Dolly Parton?, Who Was Abigail Adams?, and Who Was Roald Dahl?
Where Is Mount Rushmore?
In 1924, the world-famous sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his thirteen-year-old son took a trip together out west. They left their home in Connecticut and, days later, got off a train in Rapid City, South Dakota. Only about six thousand people lived in Rapid City. South Dakota had been a state for only thirty-five years. The Borglums felt they were in the middle of nowhere. They actually were smack-dab in the center of the United States.
Gutzon had come to South Dakota to see if he could find a mountain to carve into the biggest sculpture in the country. He was a patriotic man, and his idea was to give America a sculpture to glorify its greatness. Perhaps it could be huge carvings of great Americans with heads as high as the tallest buildings. What an amazing idea! But many people thought it was crazy. And no one, not even Borglum himself, realized how hard it would be to do.
Gutzon and his son, Lincoln, traveled about twenty-five miles southwest of Rapid City to nearby Keystone, a mining town farther into the backwoods. From there, a South Dakota state forester led them on horseback, following logging trails into the wild country of the Black Hills.
The Black Hills is an area 120 miles long and sixty miles wide. It rises up four thousand feet and more. It is like an island in the middle of the treeless prairie. From the rolling grasslands, the dark green ponderosa pine trees on the hills look black. With steep slopes, deep canyons, rocky ledges, and clear streams, it is rugged but very beautiful country. It is home to many animals, like elk, rattlesnakes, bison, prairie dogs, mountain lions, mountain goats, frogs, birds, and fish. There are medicinal and edible plants, wild raspberries, and flowers. It's no wonder the Lakota Sioux called it sacred land.
The Borglum party clambered up steep, craggy slopes to the top of the tallest mountain, Harney Peak. All around was a wonderful view. Far away, Gutzon could see a granite mountain. It stood higher than the surrounding peaks. That would be the place for his giant sculpture!
The name of the mountain was Mount Rushmore.
Today, huge six-story-high carved heads of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln gaze out from high on the granite face of Mount Rushmore. Borglum overcame an incredible number of obstacles to create this great national monument. He said it was like waging a one-man war. With his combined drive and talent, he was probably the only man of his time who could have succeeded. For many reasons, it would be impossible to do such a project today.
Mount Rushmore is a major tourist attraction for South Dakota. It has become a symbol of patriotism and pride for many Americans. But people from all over the world travel to marvel at it. Even so, there are people who think it should not ever have been made.
Chapter 1: The Black Hills
Throughout history the Black Hills, rising dramatically from the Great Plains, have impressed all who've seen them. They are called hills, but they are the highest mountains east of the Rockies . . . and west of the Alps!
