Mount Rushmore Timeline

The dedication ceremony was held on August 10, 1927, and carving of the sculpture got underway on October 4. Gutzon Borglum named it the Shrine of Democracy and oversaw execution with help from his son, Lincoln Borglum.

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Act, which authorized up to $250,000 in matching funds, was introduced to Congress in 1928 and signed into law by Coolidge on February 25, 1929, just before leaving office. The 1929 presidential transition to Herbert Hoover delayed funding until an initial federal match of $54,670.56 was acquired.

Image source: Calvin Coolidge

In 1933, the National Park Service took Mount Rushmore under its jurisdiction.

Image source: National Park Service

A 500-word essay giving the history of the United States by Nebraska student William Andrew Burkett was selected as the winner in the college-age group in a 1934 competition, and that essay was placed on the Entablature on a bronze plate in 1973.

Workers only managed to cut about 70 feet into the rock before work stopped in 1939 to focus on the heads. No further work on the Hall of Records was carried out after completion of the statues in 1941.

After Gutzon Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941, his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project.

By July 4, 1934, Washington's face had been completed and was dedicated. Construction began in 1927 and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939.

Image source: George Washington

The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936. That same year, Black Elk visited the site while it was still under construction.

Image source: Thomas Jefferson

In 1937, when the sculpture was not yet complete, a bill was introduced in Congress supporting the addition of women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony's head to the monument.

Image source: Susan B. Anthony

The face of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated on September 17, 1937.

Image source: Abraham Lincoln

In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated. The Sculptor's Studio – a display of unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting – was built in 1939 under the direction of Borglum. It was his second on-site studio and was kept intact after the 1941 opening of the memorial.

Image source: Theodore Roosevelt

Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941, and only Washington's sculpture includes any detail below chin level. Between October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941, Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the colossal 60-foot-high carvings of Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln representing the first 150 years of American history. When the sculpture was completed, the sculptors said the remaining rock was not suitable for additional carvings. The entire project cost US$989,992.32 (equivalent to $21.7 million in 2025).

Construction on the Crazy Horse Memorial began in 1940 elsewhere in the Black Hills.

Image source: Crazy Horse Memorial

Noted climbers Jan and Herb Conn pioneered many climbing routes in this area in the 1940s and eventually came to make their home in the Black Hills in 1949.

Image source: Black Hills

Harold Spitznagel and Cecil Doty designed the original visitor center, finished in 1957, as part of the Mission 66 effort to improve visitor facilities at national parks and monuments across the country.

Image source: Mission 66

On October 15, 1966, Mount Rushmore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Image source: National Register of Historic Places

Members of the American Indian Movement led an occupation of the monument in 1971, naming it "Mount Crazy Horse", and Lakota holy man John Fire Lame Deer planted a prayer staff on top of the mountain.

Image source: American Indian Movement

The winning 1934 essay by William Andrew Burkett was placed on the Entablature on a bronze plate in 1973.

The walkway was added during the 1976 United States Bicentennial and is lined with the flags of all 50 current states, as well as the District of Columbia, three territories, and two commonwealths, arranged in alphabetical order.

Image source: Avenue of Flags

Ten years of redevelopment work culminated with the completion of extensive visitor facilities and sidewalks in 1998, such as a visitor center, the Lincoln Borglum Museum, and the Presidential Trail. The Grand View Terrace and amphitheater were added in 1998, offering a prime vantage point for the sculptures.

Image source: Lincoln Borglum Museum

In 1998, a stone time capsule was constructed inside the mouth of the cave housing 16 enamel panels with biographical and historical information about Mount Rushmore, as well as the texts of the documents Borglum wanted to preserve there.

In 1998, electronic monitoring devices were installed to track movement in the topology of the sculpture to an accuracy of 0.12 inches (3 mm). RESPEC, an engineering firm charged with monitoring the stability of the rock in 1989, shared the view that remaining rock was unsuitable for additional carvings.

In 2004, Gerard Baker was appointed superintendent of the park, the first and so far only Native American in that role.

Image source: Gerard Baker (National Park Service)

In 2005 Alfred Kärcher, a German manufacturer of pressure washing and steam cleaning machines, conducted a free cleanup operation which lasted several weeks, using pressurized water at over 200 °F (93 °C).

Image source: Kärcher

The site was digitally recorded in 2009 using a terrestrial laser scanning method as part of the international Scottish Ten project, providing a high-resolution record to aid the conservation of the site.

On July 8, 2009, a group of Greenpeace protesters scaled Mount Rushmore, hanging a 65-foot-by-35-foot banner next to former U.S. presidents' faces.

Image source: Greenpeace

A 2016 investigation found the probable cause of water contamination was aerial fireworks displays held on Independence Days from 1998 to 2009; the National Park Service also reported at least 27 forest fires around Mount Rushmore in that period caused by fireworks. A 2007 study had found almost two-thirds of the park's acreage consisted of old-growth ponderosa pine forest, and a 2010 article noted fire suppression had left forests overgrown with fuel. An environmental impact assessment issued in 2020 left room for possibly returning fireworks.

Nick Clifford, the last remaining carver, died in November 2019 at age 98.

On August 11, 1952, the U.S. Post Office issued a stamp depicting the monument. On January 2, 1974, a 26-cent airmail stamp depicting the monument was also issued.

In 1991 the United States Mint released commemorative silver dollar, half-dollar, and five-dollar coins celebrating the 50th anniversary of the monument's dedication, and President George H. W. Bush rededicated the monument. The sculpture was also the main subject of the 2006 South Dakota state quarter.

During a 2017 rally in Ohio, Trump joked about whether he might one day be on Mount Rushmore. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem described the potential addition as Trump's "dream" in 2018. Barack Obama had been asked about his own potential addition in 2008 and joked that his ears were too large; proposals had also been made for John F. Kennedy after his 1963 assassination and Ronald Reagan in 1985 and 1999, the latter receiving a debate in Congress.

On January 28, 2025, a Representative introduced legislation regarding adding Donald Trump's likeness to Mount Rushmore.