Why Carve a Nation into “Nowhere”? - Mount Rushmore and Granite
In South Dakota’s Black Hills, Mount Rushmore rose from what was once a sparsely visited landscape. Onto that granite cliff were carved George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln—the faces chosen to tell a national story. It was, at heart, a make-what-doesn’t-exist wager—turning “nowhere” into a place people felt they had to see. Conceived as a bold economic catalyst in the early 20th century, the project transformed a backwater into a site that now attracts just over two million visitors annually*NPS 2023: 2.43 million visitors.
1. A national symbol cut into a barren place
The spark came from South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson. In the 1920s he sought a spectacular draw for tourism and proposed giant sculptures. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles due to rock quality and sightlines, selecting the sunlit, more stable cliff of Mount Rushmore. Drilling began in 1927, and through the 1930s the mountain’s face was transformed into a national narrative.
On-site method: “If it doesn’t exist, build it.” That spirit—more audacity than ornament—recast a quiet hillside into a stage for a nation.
2. A non-quarried granite mountain under federal protection
While the wider Black Hills saw waves of resource extraction from the 19th century onward, the Rushmore area took a different path: it became a federal forest reserve in 1897 (today’s Black Hills National Forest) and was later designated a National Memorial in 1925. Within this protected envelope, conservation and visitor experience took priority over quarrying—leaving it, in effect, a granite mountain spared the quarry. The rock face could become a canvas rather than a mine.
Had extensive quarrying gone forward here, the site would likely have been consumed as a mere stone supply. Protection inverted its meaning—from resource to heritage.
This pattern is familiar in Japan as well: granite used in castle ramparts and cultural properties survives not because it was merely a resource but because it was preserved as heritage. By being spared extraction, the stone keeps telling history.
3. Granite choice and carving techniques
The bedrock is Harney Peak Granite (the peak is now known as Black Elk Peak), emplaced roughly 1.7 billion years ago—dense, tough, and highly durable. Estimated weathering is ~1 inch per 10,000 years, meaning the forms should retain their character for millennia.
| Item | Rushmore Granite | Representative Japanese Granites |
|---|---|---|
| Main minerals | Quartz, feldspar, biotite | Quartz, feldspar, biotite |
| Color / texture | White to light gray, rather coarse-grained | Gray to bluish-gray, often fine-grained |
| Mohs hardness | ~6–7 | ~6–7 |
| Durability | Very high; resists weathering | High; used for tombstones and lanterns |
4. People, funding, and the build story
Construction ran 1927–1941. Some ~400 workers labored on the cliff under harsh conditions, and remarkably there were no fatalities. The final cost was $989,992.32*NPS/PBS official figure.
5. Why these four presidents?
- George Washington: Founding the nation
- Thomas Jefferson: Declaration and westward expansion
- Theodore Roosevelt: Conservation ethos and the national parks framework
- Abraham Lincoln: Emancipation and preserving the Union
For Borglum, these four encapsulated pivotal phases of America’s first 150 years.
6. Native American perspectives
To the Lakota (Sioux) and other Nations, the Black Hills are sacred. The memorial is thus both a major attraction and a reminder of dispossession. As a counter-narrative, the region is also home to the ongoing Crazy Horse Memorial, planned to be one of the world’s largest granite sculptures when completed.
7. Granite and the idea of endurance
Granite outlasts lifetimes and dynasties. In Japan, it endures in castle ramparts, stone lanterns, and grave markers. At Rushmore, the union of a ~1 inch / 10,000 years weathering rate with a national vision created an eternal declaration carved in stone.
*NPS 2023 Visitor Statistics: 2.43 million visitors
*PBS / NPS official records: construction cost $989,992.32
Suggested internal links:
・Why Granite Is Chosen for Japanese Stone Lanterns
・What Is Granite? (Gorinto and Philosophy)
・Where Stone and Culture Meet — Gorinto