The Father of Mount Rushmore

Jerry Klinger, president of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, paid for this marker, dedicated at the tunnel pullout in May 2017, and has written why. Robinson was not Jewish, but the idea was his, and Klinger calls Borglum, the sculptor the mountain is credited to, an antisemite who barred Jewish carvers from the work. Robinson's own part faded early. Borglum turned down the granite Needles he had proposed, and the federal commission later named to run the memorial seated a dozen men without him.

What the plaque says

The Father of Mount Rushmore Doane Robinson (1856-1946) was the South Dakota state historian from 1901 to 1926. Speaking to the Black and Yellow Trail Association in January 1924, Robinson pro- posed his idea to carve legendary figures of the American West into the Black Hills Needles formation. He believed the monument would be a special attraction to draw visitors to the scenic landscape and develop tourism to diversify the state economy. Robinson shared the idea with Senator Peter Norbeck who provided key political support. Enlisting artist Gutzon Borglum, they agreed on presidents as sub- jects of national significance and Mount Rushmore as the best site. Robinson worked with the state legislature for initial funding, coordinated with Norbeck for Borglum's initial visits, promoted the idea around the state, and was an early leader of the memorial association. Borglum's final design for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial was built from 1927 to 1941. Doane Mountain, located along Memorial Highway, was named for Robinson, to honor the "Father of Mount Rushmore." SD State Historical Society Mt. Rushmore Society Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mount Rushmore National Memorial — 1.4 mi
  Four faces blasted out of a sacred mountain by 400 workers in fourteen years, with a Jefferson that had to be dynamited off and a hall of records never finished.
• Black Elk Peak — 4.8 mi
  The highest summit in the Black Hills, renamed in 2016 for an Oglala holy man after carrying, for 150 years, the name of the general who attacked a Sicangu camp in 1855.
• Needles Highway — 7.5 mi
  Fourteen miles that Governor Peter Norbeck laid out on foot and horseback through the granite spires, threading a tunnel eight feet wide.
• State Game Lodge — 7.7 mi
  The lodge where Calvin Coolidge spent the summer of 1927, fishing for trout, dedicating Mount Rushmore, and deciding not to run again.

More markers nearby

• The Pigtail Bridges — steps away
• Gutzon Borglum — 1.1 mi
• Civilian Conservation Corps Camp - Lodge — 4.3 mi
• Mount Rushmore Inspiration — 5.3 mi