Behind tall faces
Why is Mount Rushmore named after a New York lawyer?
Image: Jake Leonard
What famous woman’s face almost became the fifth face on Mount Rushmore? Did the sculptor Gutzon Borglum really intend to just carve out the heads? Why is the mount named that, and not Borglum? The answers to these questions are some lesser-known facts about one of the most famous landmarks and sights in our country. Let’s dive into these stories!
1
The original plan included full-body figures
Image: Thomas Shockey
Mount Rushmore was supposed to be even more colossal than it already is. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum envisioned the four presidents carved from the waist up .
He even made plaster models showing Abraham Lincoln's coat folds and Teddy Roosevelt’s hand clutching his lapel. But as costs went up, Congress said: "heads only, please."
2
Charles Rushmore was just a curious New Yorker
Image: Maarten van den Heuvel
Back in 1925, when the mount was about to be carved into a monument, Charles Rushmore wrote a letter explaining why the peak bore his name. He recalled that in the 1880s he was a young New Yorker working in the area, and fell fond of that particular granite peak .
When he asked the locals about it, they informed him that it had no name, but that if he wished so, they would just start calling it Rushmore Peak, or Mount Rushmore, or the likes. Years later, that very name had been inscribed in the public domain to designate the peak.
3
Yes, there’s a hidden room behind Lincoln’s head
Image: Laura Nyhuis
Behind Abraham Lincoln’s hairline lies a hidden chamber, part of Borglum’s lofty idea for a "Hall of Records." This room was meant to house foundational American documents like the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence.
Instead of that, in 1998, a titanium box was placed inside, filled with copies of important documents and biographies, as a time capsule to preserve the treasure of knowledge for future generations.
4
Thomas Jefferson was moved
Image: Dave Baraloto
Jefferson was originally supposed to go to Washington’s right, but after 18 months of chiseling , the granite betrayed them. Cracks and flaws made the site unworkable.
Borglum made the painful decision to blast Jefferson’s half-formed face clean off and start anew on Washington’s left.
5
The mountain was almost a monument to western heroes
Image: Timberly Hawkins
Before presidents took over, the mountain was pitched as a giant tribute to the Wild West . South Dakota historian Doane Robinson wanted to see frontier legends like Lewis & Clark carved into the Black Hills.
But when Borglum came aboard, he had a grander (and more politically bankable) idea: four presidents to symbolize national unity and expansion.
6
A woman’s face was almost added
Image: Tom Fournier
In the 1930s, there was serious talk of honoring Susan B. Anthony alongside the Founding Fathers, as a nod to the women’s suffrage movement.
Borglum wasn’t opposed to the idea, but Congress quickly nixed it, stating that only U.S. presidents could be included.
7
The workers were mostly local miners and loggers
Image: Pixabay
They were neither sculptors nor artists. Most of the workforce came from nearby Keystone, South Dakota: miners, loggers, and hard-up laborers looking for work during the Great Depression.
Borglum trained them himself. There were no safety harnesses, and yet, remarkably, no one died on the job.
8
Dynamite did 90% of the work
Image: Alexander Paramonov
To carve the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln, workers used carefully timed dynamite blasts to remove over 450,000 tons of rock. They got so precise, they could blast within inches of where the final surface would be.
The last details, like wrinkles, pupils, or Roosevelt’s glasses, were done with jackhammers and chisels.
9
The noses are disproportionate
Image: Dudubangbang Travel
Standing in front of the mountain, the faces seem alright. But that’s a trick of perspective. Each presidential nose is a whopping 20 feet long .
If the sculptures had included full bodies as planned, each figure would have stood 465 feet tall. That’s taller than the Statue of Liberty and most downtown skyscrapers.
10
Teddy Roosevelt was the most controversial pick
Image: Dudubangbang Travel
Washington, of course. Jefferson, made sense. Lincoln, sure. And Teddy? Some critics raised their eyebrows at Borglum’s fourth choice. Roosevelt had only recently passed away in 1919, and many questioned whether he'd stood the test of time.
But Borglum defended the decision Roosevelt’s role in breaking up monopolies, conserving national parks, and engineering the Panama Canal. Plus, Borglum had met him personally and was a fan.
11
It was supposed to have inscriptions
Image: Dan Pick
Borglum had grander plans than just four giant heads. He wanted to carve a massive inscription next to them, a timeline of America’s most important milestones , chiseled straight into the mountain. In time, the idea was scrapped for practical and aesthetic reasons.
12
The visionary died before completion
Image: Lisa Reichenstein
Gutzon Borglum, the visionary behind it all, didn’t live to see his masterpiece finished. He died in March 1941, just as the construction was reaching its end. His son, Lincoln Borglum (yes, named after that Lincoln), took over the project.
Still, with WWII drawing resources elsewhere, funding was slashed, and Lincoln had to wrap things up quickly . Some features, like Lincoln’s ear, were never fully detailed.
