• Mount Rushmore, Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, Lincoln framed by ponderosa pine trees under a bright blue sky.

    Mount Rushmore

    National Memorial South Dakota

Historical Letters and Legislation

South Dakota State Historian Doane Robinson.

South Dakota State Historian Doane Robinson.

National Park service.

South Dakota State Historian, Doane Robinson, was the first to contact Sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, in 1924 to talk over the idea of a mountain carving in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Read Doane Robinson's letter to Gutzon Borglum letter. PDF
 
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum.

Charles d'Emery

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum's reply to Doane Robinson telegram PDF

Did You Know?

Did You Know?

A man-made opening called the Hall of Records was created in the mountain behind the heads on Mount Rushmore. Gutzon Borglum and his carvers worked on the Hall of Records from July, 1938, until July, 1939, but it was never finished.