We Can Thank An Idaho Sculptor For The Creation Of Mount Rushmore

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial was completed in 1941 and attracts millions of people a year. The fact a father-son team from southern Idaho is behind the jaw-dropping labor of love is almost impossible to believe, but it's true.

I've never had the privilege of visiting Mount Rushmore. The famous granite mountainside is located in South Dakota and draws close to two million visitors every year, according to data from Statista.

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As I stood reading the inscription at Borglam's burial site I was blown away that this man who was born near Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho had led such an incredible life and was responsible for something as grandiose as Mount Rushmore.

Until recently, I never knew that a man named Gutzon Borglam and his son Lincoln were the visionary driving forces behind leading the workers who chiseled the likeness of United States presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln into Black Elk Peak in the southwestern portion of the state. I learned of these two individuals and their amazing accomplishments while on a recent visit to the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. Gutzon Borglam's human remains are kept in a mausoleum near actress Elizabeth Taylor's tomb.

As I stood reading the inscription at Borglam's burial site I was blown away that this man who was born near Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho had led such an incredible life and was responsible for something as grandiose as Mount Rushmore. His son took over the project after Gutzon died and led the team right up until the memorial was finished. In all, the construction of Mount Rushmore took 14 years.

For those in southern Idaho who would like to see Mount Rushmore and pay respect to Gutzon Borlgam and his son Lincoln, it's going to be a 750-mile drive east to Keystone. Safe travels!