October 31st isn’t just Halloween! It’s also the anniversary of two pretty cool things:

1. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864.


Mount Rushmore2. The Mount Rushmore National Memorial was completed after 14 years of work on October 31, 1941. First suggested by Jonah Robinson of the South Dakota State Historical Society, the memorial was dedicated in 1925, and work began in 1927. The memorial contains sculptures of the heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. The 60-foot-tall sculptures represent, respectively, the nation’s founding, political philosophy, preservation and expansion and conservation.

Did You Know?
That there is a cave in the mountain behind the heads on Mount Rushmore? It is called the Hall of Records. Gutzon Borglum and his workers started the drilling in July of 1938 and work was halted in July of 1939.

Visit the National Park Service website for more information on Mount Rushmore.