Mt. Rushmore Memorial - South Dakota - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

THE MOUNT RUSHMORE MEMORIAL (6,040 alt.), across the sharp valley, is said to be the largest sculpture undertaken since the time of the ancient Egyptians; the gigantic figures in granite are carved to the proportion of men 465 ft. tall. George Washington's carved face is 60 ft. from hair line to chin, and one can stand in Jefferson's eye. When the memorial is completed, the busts of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt will command the view for miles, a stately, cloud-draped monument to four presidents of the United States--to perpetuate the founding, the expansion, the preservation, and the unification of the United States. The head of Washington--wig, high forehead, large nose, and resolute jaw--emerges prominently from the most forward cliff, and presenting a striking profile from either side. Lapels of his coat are visible and when completed, his coat will show to the waistline. The face of Jefferson is set back into the precipice, the features, however, showing plainly. The head of Lincoln, which was unveiled Sept. 17, 1937, as a part of a program, nationally broadcast, inaugurating Constitution Year, is in the protruding rock farthest to the R. The Roosevelt figure is set deep into the mountain. When completed, the Washington and Lincoln figures will stand out from each side, with Jefferson and Roosevelt lower and farther back.

Mt. Rushmore involved the efforts of nearly 400 men and women. The duties involved varied greatly from the call boy to drillers to the blacksmith to the housekeepers. The workers had to endure conditions that varied from blazing hot to bitter cold and windy. Each day they climbed 700 stairs to the top of the mountain to punch-in on the time clock. Then 3/8 inch thick steel cables lowered them over the front of the 500 foot face of the mountain in a "bosun chair". Some of the workers admitted being uneasy with heights, but during the Depression, any job was a good job.

Dynamite was used until only three to six inches of rock was left to remove to get to the final carving surface. At this point, the drillers and assistant carvers would drill holes into the granite very close together. This was called honeycombing. The closely drilled holes would weaken the granite so it could be removed often by hand.

After the honeycombing, the workers smoothed the surface of the faces with a hand facer or bumper tool. In this final step, the bumper tool would even up the granite, creating a surface as smooth as a sidewalk.