Mount Rushmore

High in South Dakota’s Black Hills, four enormous faces look out from a granite mountainside. From the Grand View Terrace at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, visitors can see the sculptures framed by forested slopes and pine trees.

The faces belong to four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum chose them to represent important parts of the nation’s history. Washington led the country at its beginning, while Jefferson helped expand it through the Louisiana Purchase. Lincoln worked to preserve the nation during the Civil War, and Roosevelt supported conservation and the growth of the United States.

Work on the memorial began in 1927 and ended in 1941. Hundreds of workers helped shape the mountain. They used dynamite to remove large amounts of rock, then used drills and other tools to refine the features. Each face is about 60 feet tall—as high as a six-story building.

The Black Hills are also a place of deep importance to the Lakota and other Native peoples. The United States took control of the Black Hills after gold was discovered there, despite an 1868 treaty that recognized the area as part of a reservation for the Lakota and other Sioux people. Many Native Americans see the memorial differently from visitors who celebrate the presidents it depicts.

Today, people come to Mount Rushmore to view the huge carving and explore the surrounding landscape. The mountain can inspire wonder, while its history encourages visitors to consider whose stories are told—and whose are not.