Mount Rushmore is one of the most famous landmarks in the United States. Four former American presidents have their huge carved heads there, but do you know who named it?
The mountain itself is named after Charles E. Rushmore. He was a New York lawyer who traveled through the Black Hills region of South Dakota in 1885. He was part of a team re-mapping the area.
When they came across the large mountain, one team member suggested naming it after Rushmore since he was from the big city and had never seen such a magnificent mountain up close before.
So the name “Mount Rushmore” stuck, even though Rushmore himself had no idea the mountain was being named after him at the time! He didn’t even know about it until many years later.
Interestingly, Mount Rushmore was originally known to the Native American Lakota tribe as “Six Grandfathers.” This name referred to the prominent features making up the mountain’s peak.
The four presidents carved into the mountain’s facade are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. They were chosen to represent the nation’s birth, growth, development, and preservation.
The massive sculpture was begun in 1927 and finally completed in 1941 under the direction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Each head is around 60 feet tall!
More than 3 million people come to Mount Rushmore to see this wonderful sculpture and landmark up close every year. Every time you come here, remember that everything was called this way by a man unknown to everybody called Charles E. Rushmore who could not ever imagine his name would be so famous!
