Mount Rushmore National Memorial

For a long, long time, I was just a giant granite mountain sleeping in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Pine trees tickled my sides like a green blanket, and the big, blue sky was my hat. The wind would whisper secrets to me as eagles soared high above. But I was keeping a secret of my own. Hidden inside my stone heart were four of the greatest faces anyone had ever seen, just waiting to come out. People who visit me look way, way up and gasp. I am Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

My story really begins with a man named Doane Robinson. Around the year 1923, he had a big dream. He thought, “How can we get more people to visit our beautiful state of South Dakota?” He imagined a giant carving in the mountains that people would travel from all over the world to see. A famous artist named Gutzon Borglum heard about this idea and had an even bigger one. He didn’t want to carve just any faces. He wanted to carve the faces of four presidents who helped make the United States a great country. He chose George Washington, because he was the very first president. Next was Thomas Jefferson, who helped the country grow much bigger. Then came Theodore Roosevelt, who loved nature and made sure the country was strong. And finally, Abraham Lincoln, who bravely kept the country together during a very hard time.

On October 4th, 1927, the real work began. It was so exciting. Hundreds of workers, who were very brave, climbed high up on my face. To remove huge chunks of rock, they used dynamite. BOOM. It sounded like thunder rolling through the hills. But Gutzon and his team were very careful. After the big blasts, they used smaller tools like drills and hammers to slowly shape the eyes, noses, and mouths. It was like they were giving me a new face, one piece at a time. It took 14 years of hard work, day after day, through sunny skies and chilly winds. When Gutzon passed away before I was all done, his son, Lincoln Borglum, stepped in to help finish the dream. My carving was finally completed on October 31st, 1941.

Today, I am a place where millions of people come every year. Families gather below and look up at the giant stone faces staring out across the land. They take pictures and learn about the presidents who look over them. I love hearing children whisper, “Wow, they’re so big.” I stand here as a reminder that with a big dream, a lot of teamwork, and hard work, anything is possible. I hope that when people look at me, they feel inspired to learn about the past and to dream big dreams of their own.