Mount Rushmore sits 1,278 acres (518 hectares), SW S.Dak., in the Black Hills; est. 1925, and dedicated 1927. There, carved on the face of the mountain and visible for 60 mi (97 km), are the enormous (60 ft/18.3 m high) heads of four U.S. presidents—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. The presidents were selected on the basis of what each symbolized: Washington represents the struggle for independence, Jefferson the idea of government by the people, Lincoln for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states, and Roosevelt for the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs. The carving of Mt. Rushmore actually began on August 10, 1927. Only about six and a half years were spent actually carving the mountain, with the rest of the time being spent on weather delays and Borglum's greatest enemy - the lack of funding. The total cost of the project was $900,000. Work continued on the project until the death of Gutzon Borglum in 1941, and the work was finished later that year by his son Lincoln. In all, it took 14 years to complete the figures, which during the summer are visited by more than 20,000 tourists daily.

Bibliography: J. Taliaferro, Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore (2002).

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