1868 |
 A treaty between the U.S. government and the native Sioux gives the Sioux property rights in perpetuity over a territory that includes the Black Hills.
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1876 |
After gold is discovered in the Black Hills (1874), prospectors move in and displace the Sioux. |
1885 |
Charles Rushmore goes to the Black Hills to inspect mining claims; Mount Rushmore is named in his honor. |
1923 |
 South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson writes to eminent Chicago sculptor Lorado Taft proposing that one of the "Needles" -- spiky rock formations -- of the Black Hills be carved in the likenesses of a "notable Sioux such as Red Cloud" and other Western figures. Taft responds by stating that he is in poor health.
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1924 |
Robinson contacts Gutzon Borglum about the project; Borglum is enthusiastic. To arouse national interest, Borglum suggests George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as subjects. |
1925 |
March 5: The Governor of South Dakota signs the Mount Harney bill, allowing for the carving of a monument in Custer State Park.
 August: Borglum arrives in South Dakota and declares that he will carve a mountain, not the Needles. He decides on Mount Rushmore as the best site. Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt are to be included in the sculptural program.
October 1: Rushmore is dedicated. |
1927 |
President Calvin Coolidge spends a summer in the Black Hills.
August 10: A second dedication featuring Coolidge is arranged. Borglum invites Coolidge to write the text of the Entablature.
October 4: Actual carving begins. |
1929 |
June 6: The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission is created. Rapid City mayor John Boland is named president of the Commission's executive committee. |
1930 |
April: Borglum releases Coolidge's Entablature text -- with unlabeled "edits". Criticized by pundits, Coolidge withdraws from the entire scheme.
July 4: A dedication of the Washington head is held. |
1931 |
Workers carving the Jefferson head encounter problems; the stone to Washington's right, where they have been working, is not strong enough to support the sculpture. |
1933 |
 Gutzon's son Lincoln Borglum begins full-time work at Rushmore.
A lot of stone is removed to find carveable rock to Washington's left; the area will be the new site for Jefferson. The old Jefferson head is blasted away. |
