Category: Waypoint  Listing Date: 2014-06-01

The Rushmore-Borglum Story

His birthplace was Idaho. California first taught him art. Then France who first gave him fame. England welcomed him. America called him home. His genius for the exquisite as for the colossal gave permanence on canvas, in bronze, in marble, to moods of beauty or passion, to figures of legend and history. Nations, cities, colleges paid him tribute. As a patriot he stripped corruption bare. As a statesman he toiled for equality in the rights of man. At last he carved a mountain for a monument. He made the monument chant: "Remember! These giant souls set America free and kept her free. Hold fast your sacred heritage. Americans! Remember! Remember!"

Borglum said, "I want somewhere in America a memory of the great things we accomplished as a nation placed so high it won't pay to pull it down for lesser purposes." The first actual Rushmore carving was begun in 1927. The project was nearly completed in l941 when Borglum died. Mount Rushmore was completed by his son Lincoln with the final drilling done October 31, 1941.

Starting with a log cabin as his first residence here on Grizzly Creek, the Borglum home was accessible by foot to the top of Mt. Rushmore. This is also the place Gutzon built the Mt. Rushmore generator plant. This Borglum art center (The Rushmore-Borglum Story) is dedicated to Gutzon Borglum. He said. "Every statue should tell a story, it should portray a moment in our nation's history or a man's life that's worth remembering."

The Rushmore-Borglum Story (studio-museum) is located in downtown Keystone, South Dakota. You can't miss it if you are heading to Mount Rushmore from Rapid City or Hill City, SD. The the waypoint sign out front contains the words above. Inside the primary displays are part of a self guided audio tour. Headphones explain the exhibits and direct your tour.