Mount Rushmore started in 1923 as an idea in the mind of Doane Robinson, the founder of the South Dakota Historical Society in 1901.

His idea was to have a sculptor carve a gigantic monument in the area of the Needles in the Black Hills. He thought that the subject of this monument could be Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, John C. Fremont, or other great heroes of the American west. This would bring thousands of tourists to South Dakota and would help the economy of their state.

Soon United States Senator Peter Norbeck supported the idea and in August of 1924 they wrote to Gutzon Borglum and invited him to come to the Black Hills to find a site to carve a monument.

At this time Gutzon Borglum was working on a similar project on Stone Mountain in Georgia to honor heroes of the Civil War. This project was never to be finished by Gutzon Borglum but it showed that he could work on a project of this magnitude.

In September of 1924 Gutzon, his 12 year old son, and Major Jesse Tucker who was his assistant at Stone Mountain went to South Dakota. They traveled by horse through the spectacular granite "Needles" but found that the rough and weathered Needles would not be good for carving, yet Gutzon described the area as a "veritable garden of the gods."

A year later they again traveled to South Dakota. They found a massive peak known as Mount Rushmore. Finding this huge mass of granite, Gutzon felt that this was the site for his gigantic sculpture.

The site was very isolated and Senator Norbeck was disappointed in the choice. Robinson said that if Gutzon could carve it, then he could find a way to get the visitors to the site.

On October 1, 1925 around 3,000 people traveled over the rough roads to be at a dedication of the site.