What was the purpose of making Mount Rushmore?

To build a national monument and draw tourists to South Dakota. Their plan has worked. read more

The Making of Mount Rushmore The 70th anniversary of the completion of the South Dakota monument prompts a look back at what it took to create it Ninety percent of Mount Rushmore was carved using dynamite. read more

Construction on the George Washington portrait at Mount Rushmore, c. 1932. George Washington's head was started first. Due to the economic instability of the United States caused by the Great Depression, it was completed in seven years, and dedicated to the public on Independence Day 1934. read more

Borglum decided to use Mount Rushmore for the sculpture, since it seemed to be the easiest and most stable of the cliffs to work on. Having decided on the location of the sculpture, Borglum decided to make the monument of four presidents of the United States. read more