Near Custer in Custer County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Crazy Horse Memorial

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2010

1. Crazy Horse Memorial Marker

Inscription. The Crazy Horse mountain carving will be the world’s largest sculpture, measuring 563 feet high by 641 feet long, carved in the round. The nine-story-high face of Crazy Horse was completed on June 3, 1998. Work began on the 22-story-high horse’s head soon after.

The Memorial honors the North American Indian. The non-profit, non-governmental undertaking began in 1947 when sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (1908-1982) arrived in the Black Hills and accepted the invitation of Lakota chiefs to carve Crazy Horse.

Korczak was orphaned at age one and grew up in a series of foster homes. He was completely self-taught, and never took a lesson in art, sculpture, architecture or engineering. The Memorial is being continued by the sculptor’s wife, Ruth, and their family.

Open year-round, the Crazy Horse Visitor Center complex includes the Indian Museum of North America, the sculptor’s studio-home and his workshop.

(photo captions)
• Model of Crazy Horse in Front of Mountain
• Crazy Horse Memorial, 1983
• Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski with Crazy Horse Model

Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Native Americans • Parks & Recreational Areas.

Location. 43° 49.06′ N,

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103° 38.337′ W. Marker is near Custer, South Dakota, in Custer County. Marker can be reached from U.S. 385 south of Avenue of the Chiefs, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located on the Mickelson Rail Trail, about 1/10 mile south of the Crazy Horse Mountain Parking Lot on US 385. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Custer SD 57730, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Hearst Highway (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Landscapes & Logging (approx. 1.6 miles away); Everything changes, or does it? (approx. 1.8 miles away); Custer County Courthouse (approx. 4 miles away); Frontier Protection (approx. 4 miles away); Horace N. Ross (approx. 4.1 miles away); First National Bank of Dakota Territory (approx. 4.1 miles away); Miners Meet 1875 (approx. 4.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Custer.

Also see . . .
1. Crazy Horse Memorial (Wikipedia). It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization. (Submitted on September 4, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Korczak Ziolkowski (Wikipedia).

Crazy Horse Memorial Marker Kiosk image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2010

2. Crazy Horse Memorial Marker Kiosk

(Crazy Horse Memorial visible in distant background)

In 1947 Ziolkowski moved to the Black Hills and began to search for a suitable mountain for his sculpture. On June 3, 1948, the first blast was made, and the memorial was dedicated to the Native American people. Ziolkowski continued his work until he died of acute pancreatitis at age 74 at the monument site in 1982. (Submitted on September 4, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. Inside the controversial 70-year journey to build Crazy Horse. Over the last 70 years the granite mountain, once called Thunderhead Mountain, has been shaped by dynamite and bulldozers. It's slowly taken shape, but it's far from finished. (Submitted on September 4, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Crazy Horse Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2010

3. Crazy Horse Memorial

Credits. This page was last revised on September 4, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 4, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 333 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 4, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.