On this day in history

31 October 1941: Mount Rushmore is declared complete

31 October 2026

After fourteen years of carving, the enormous memorial in South Dakota reached its final day of drilling.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY · 2026-10-31 Saturday, 31 October 2026 31 October 1941: Mount Rushmore is declared complete After fourteen years of drilling and carving, the work on Mount Rushmore came to an end. The U.S. National Park Service records that final drilling took place under Lincoln Borglum and the memorial was declared a completed project on 31 October 1941. Why it is interesting: nearly 400 people helped create the four 60-foot granite faces, yet the original plans also included an enormous inscription and a Hall of Records—ideas that were never fully realised. Sources: https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/memorial-history.htm https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/timeline.htm