Near Keystone in Pennington County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Hall of Records
Mount Rushmore
courtesy NPS
1. Hall of Records Marker
"...let us place there, carved high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were. Then breathe a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and rain alone shall wear them away."
Gutzon Borglum, Sculptor
Erected 1998 by National Park Service.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Time Capsules series list.
Location. 43° 52.742′ N, 103° 27.58′ W. Marker is near Keystone, South Dakota, in Pennington County. It can be reached from South Dakota Route 244. Located behind Mount Rushmore and not accessible to the public. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 13000 SD-244, Keystone SD 57751, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West River, in the Badlands, and in Greater Rapid City. It is also in the American Black Hills, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, and on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Abraham Lincoln (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); George Washington (about 600 feet away); Thomas Jefferson (about 700 feet away); Theodore Roosevelt (approx. 0.2 miles away); Profile in Granite (approx. ¼ mile away); (Mount Rushmore) Chronology (approx. ¼ mile away); History of the United States of America (approx. ¼ mile away); The Power to Carve a Mountain (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map
this page online
Also see . . . Hall of Records. National Park Service/Mount Rushmore website. Excerpts:
Borglum planned to create a large room within the mountain. This chamber would hold the documents and artifacts most central to American democratic history. The proposed large room, 80 by 100 feet, was to be drilled into the north wall of the small canyon behind the faces.(Submitted on November 11, 2026.)
Work halted in 1939 when Congress directed that construction should be executed only on the faces.
On August 9, 1998, Gutzon Borglum’s dream was completed when a repository of records was placed in the floor of the hall entry. This repository consists of a teakwood box, inside a titanium vault, covered by a granite capstone. Etched on the capstone is the quote by Gutzon Borglum.
This repository is not accessible to visitors but is left as a record for people thousands of years from now who may wonder how and why Mount Rushmore was carved.
courtesy NPS
2. Hall of Records and Marker
courtesy NPS
3. Hall of Records
courtesy NPS
4. Hall of Records Location
courtesy NPS
5. Hall of Records Drawing
courtesy NPS
6. Gutzon Borglum, Sculptor
Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2026, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 3 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 11, 2026, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.
