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The US Mountain Carving Larger Than Mount Rushmore
The Confederate Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is one of the most iconic attractions in the United States. However, it pales in comparison to the size and detail present in another mountain carving. A monument in northern Georgia is larger and perhaps more impressive than Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. However, the source material makes this monument less appealing to the masses than Mount Rushmore.
The Memorial Carving at Stone Mountain features Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Jefferson Davis mounted on their favorite horses. The monument is absolutely massive and is one of the most visited attractions in the South. The carving was imagined in the early 20th century and was not completed until 1972, nearly fifty years after the original project began.
A Rocky Road
Like its cousin Mount Rushmore, the Memorial Carving at Stone Mountain took decades to complete, went through starts and fits, and ran out of funding numerous times. Initially, the mountain was deeded to the United Daughters of the Confederacy for the project, but the organization was unable to maintain momentum and funding to complete the project. The original plan was to feature seven men on horseback surrounded by a Confederate army made up of “thousands” of carved soldiers. Initially, only Robert E. Lee’s head was completed.
The sculpture is so large that for many months no one could even figure out how to trace the outline onto the mountain. Eventually, a giant magic lantern was commissioned to project the outline onto the face of the mountain but the scale, terrain, and cost continued to hamper the project for years to come.
The state of Georgia purchased the mountain in the 1950s and tasked a group to complete the monument. Funding again dried up, and the project spent numerous years sitting dormant. It was finally completed in the 1970s, and today is one of the most impressive stone reliefs ever built, even if you don’t like the images depicted.
