Fast Facts
Mount Rushmore is located next to Rapid City, South Dakota. The artist who was in charge of the project was Gutzon Borglum. He died seven months before Mount Rushmore was completed. The material of the sculpture was Granite rock, and the president’s faces were 60 feet tall! The project started in 1927 and was finished in 1941. The total cost of the monument ended up being $989,992 and 32 cents!
Photo by Everett Historical / Shutterstock.com
President George Washington is on the monument because of his significant role in the American Revolution. Washington famously led the war to win independence from Great Britain. As the father of the new country, Washington’s face was chosen to be the most prominent on the mountain, representing the Birth of the United States.