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Did You Know?

In the Black Hills of South Dakota, stands the national memorial, Mount Rushmore, created by Gutzon Borglum. It was designed as a testament to the growth of the country and its great leaders. This magnificent rock carving depicts the 60-foot high (18.3 m) faces of four great U.S. Presidents: (left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Borglum started drilling into the 6,200-foot mountain in 1927; however, he died in 1941 before it could be completed. The head of Washington was completed first, followed by Jefferson and Lincoln. Roosevelt's head was unfinished when Borglum died. The memorial was finished later that year by his son, Lincoln. Borglum's original design was a sculpture of the four presidents to their waists, but time and money only provided for their heads. From here. During the first half of the nineteenth century, various Sioux (also called Dakota) tribes lived in the area that became South Dakota. These included the Santee, Teton, Yankton, and Yanktonnais tribes. The Dakota Sioux Indians comprise about five percent of the state's present population. The first major influx of settlers into the state began in 1863, after passage of the first Homestead Act. Homesteaders in the late 1860s and early 1870s came from the eastern and mid-western states. Many others came from Europe, including groups of Swedes, Danes, Czechs, and Germans from Russia. The Black Hills gold rush of 1875-1877 also attracted thousands of people.

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