Timeline

1923

• December 28 - South Dakota State Historian Doane Robinson suggests a sculpture in the Black Hills.

1925

• March 3 - Federal government authorizes a carving in the Harney National Forest.
• March 5 - State of South Dakota authorizes a carving on Custer State Park land bordering the Harney National Forest.
• October 1 - Dedication of Mount Rushmore as a national memorial with a flag ceremony.

1927

• August 10 - First ceremonial drilling takes place at Mount Rushmore after President Coolidge hands Borglum a set of drill bits.

• October 4 - First actual carving begins on Mount Rushmore.

1930

• July 4 - Dedication of the Washington figure.

1936

• August 30 - Dedication of the Jefferson figure, attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1937

• September 17 - Dedication of the Lincoln figure.

1939

• July 2 - Dedication of the Roosevelt figure.

1941

• March 6 - Gutzon Borglum dies in Chicago.
• October 31 - Final drilling takes place under the direction of Lincoln Borglum.