History
About 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved with dynamite. Each workday, carvers climbed 700 stairs to the top, then were lowered over the 500-foot face on steel cables.
ILLUSTRATION · AIAbout 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved using dynamite, the National Park Service says.
Powdermen cut and set charges of dynamite of specific sizes to remove precise amounts of rock. Drillers, carvers and a final 'bumper' tool finished the granite until it was as smooth as a sidewalk.
The workforce
The carving ran from October 4, 1927, to October 31, 1941, and involved nearly 400 men and women over those 14 years, from the call boy to drillers to the blacksmith.
For the carvers, each day began with a climb of 700 stairs to the top of the mountain. Then 3/8-inch steel cables lowered them over the 500-foot face in a bosun chair.
SourcesEvery claim traced
- Tier 2 · Secondary
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