Roosevelt head near completion
Black and white print of a close up photo of the Roosevelt head near the end of construction with some equipment present.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1941
Your TR Source
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota and was the creation of sculptor Gutzon Borglum. The faces of four presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln – were carved into the side of the mountain from 1927 to 1941 and represent Borglum’s creative vision of the founding, expansion, preservation and unification of the United States. The dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt portion of the memorial took place in 1939.
This collection has been digitized and cataloged on site at Mount Rushmore by digital library staff. It is one of our smallest collections, with fewer than 100 items. These items, mostly photographs, focus on the sculpting and dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt portion of the memorial. See below to view items from this collection in the digital library.
Digitization of items at the National Park sites was possible through National Park Service Centennial Challenge funding in partnership with Dickinson State University.
Mount Rushmore
Black and white print of Mount Rushmore from a distance showing early work on the Roosevelt head.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1937-09-17
Creator(s)
Mount Rushmore from a distance
Black and white print of Mount Rushmore from a distance and second print is a close up with scaffolding on Roosevelt and minor work to the other heads.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1939
Creator(s)
Mount Rushmore with mountain goats
Black and white print of Mount Rushmore with mountains goats near the Roosevelt head.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Roosevelt head under early construction
Black and white print of the four heads on Mount Rushmore with Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln under early construction. Text below discusses the national memorial.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Roosevelt head partially finished
Black and white print of the four heads with Roosevelt partially completed; text below discussing the national memorial.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Roosevelt head under construction
Black and white print of the four faces with Roosevelt under construction with scaffolding and pointing system above each head.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Close up photo of Roosevelt head
Black and white print of Roosevelt and Lincoln with work in progress, scaffolding present and tramway platform on Roosevelt’s head.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Photo negative of worker on Roosevelt head
Black and white negative of an unidentified worker hanging from Roosevelt head. Photo taken on mountain just below Roosevelt head. Photograph taken in the winter of 1938-1939.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1938-1939
Creator(s)
Close up photo negative of workers on Roosevelt head
Black and white negative of a close up angle of unidentified workers carving the Roosevelt face.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Photo negative of workers on Roosevelt head
Black and white negative of workers scaling down the Roosevelt head during construction.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Close up photo of Roosevelt and Lincoln heads
Black and white print of Roosevelt and Lincoln heads under construction with scaffolding.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1938-09
Creator(s)
Superimposed Mount Rushmore photo
Black and white print of superimposed Roosevelt face on Mount Rushmore next to completed Lincoln head.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Close up photo of early work on Roosevelt head
Black and white print of unidentified workers during early construction of the Roosevelt head.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Close up photo of work on Roosevelt and Lincoln heads
Black and white print of Roosevelt and Lincoln heads with work being done on Roosevelt’s hair and left eye.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1940
Creator(s)
Close up photo of work on Roosevelt and Lincoln heads
Black and white print of unidentified workers and scaffolding on the Roosevelt and Lincoln heads.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1940
Creator(s)
Close up photo of workers on Roosevelt head
Black and white print of unidentified workers doing early carving of the Roosevelt head.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1938-07-04
Creator(s)
Roosevelt head under construction
Black and white print of the four heads with Roosevelt under construction taken from the base of the mountain.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1938-07-04
Creator(s)
Photo of Mount Rushmore from road
Black and white print of Mount Rushmore from road leading to the mountain with Roosevelt head completed.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
Unknown
Creator(s)
Photo negative of Roosevelt head
Black and white negative and print of the Roosevelt head under construction with unidentified workers on the scaffolding around the face and nose.
Collection
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Creation Date
1939