Episode 28 – The Back of Your Face: Mount Rushmore’s Hidden Chamber!
Hello, again! On this episode, we discuss the mysterious chamber inside Mount Rushmore! Behind Abraham Lincoln's head is a room that the public is not allowed to see or enter. But why? What's in there? Theories abound...and we discuss...
STOP! INSIDE JOKES AHEAD!
If you haven’t gotten to listen to the episode yet, spoiler alert! This post contains lots of stuff that will make waaay more sense if you listen to the episode before or while reading. So if you haven’t already, pump the brakes and listen to the episode or just click above to play so that you can be in on all the shenanigans to follow!
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Produced by Peter Woodward
Listener Story
Our listener story this week was from Jenn in Oklahoma. It was a story of a friend who’s little brother had a full phone conversation with his deceased grandmother in a house that his family had just moved into! It was confirmed when the kid’s mother got on the phone and heard her own mother’s voice! Very creepy and cool. Thanks, Jenn!
Mount Rushmore!
The Background...
Mount Rushmore is truly a sight to behold. It is a MASSIVE sculpture carved into a huge mountain in Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota. It features the 60 ft tall faces of four US Presidents: from left to right, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Its construction lasted from 1927-1941. Originally, the sculptor planned to have the presidents carved down to waist level.
Mount Rushmore is an international favorite and attracts 2-3 million visitors annually.
The Controversy...
Despite its beauty and renown, Mount Rushmore is a very controversial site. It was originally part of the Black Hills belonging to the Lakota Sioux Tribe. They refer to the mountain as “Six Grandfathers”, and it was an integral part of their history, religion, and lives.
In 1868, The Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed by the Sioux and the US government granting exclusive use of the Black Hills to the Sioux; in exchange, the Sioux would allow non-indigenous people to . However, in less than 10 years from the signing of that treaty, prospectors discovered gold in the area. At this point, the US government broke the treaty and allowed prospectors and settlers to overrun the area. During the Great Sioux War of 1876, Sioux tribesmen were slaughtered by the thousands and the government effectively took back the land.
Since that time, it has been the mission of the Sioux to get their land back. After decades of fighting, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Sioux, awarding compensation for their stolen land. To this day, the money has not been accepted with representatives of the tribe stating they will accept nothing less than the return of the land. Their fight for that outcome continues to this day.
The Construction...
Danish-American sculptor Gutzon Borglum originally intended for this chamber to be his artist’s statement explaining the meaning of his sculpture for future generations.
- Borglum had numerous grand plans for the inside of the mountain: a Hall of Records, storage of the US’s most prized artifacts like the Declaration of Independence, grand chambers, and staircases, etc.
- What was originally projected to be a $250,000 project ended up costing over $1 million! Money like that was difficult to come by at this time. Several factors contributed to this, including the ending of The Great Depression in the 20s and large costs of WWII in the 40s. Construction was altered and delayed numerous times.
- Borglum died before completion of the facial sculptures with his son Lincoln taking over to finish the project. Construction was completed on Oct 31, 1941.
So this builder guy...not awesome
Gutzon Borglum himself is a controversial figure. He was well-known due to having previously constructed the Shrine to the Confederacy sculpture at Stone Mountain in GA. He was also known to have ties to the Ku Klux Klan…allegedly…hmm.
The initial idea for the carvings into Mount Rushmore was presented by Secretary of the South Dakota State Historical Society, Doane Robinson. He is known as the “Father of Mount Rushmore”. His idea was that this project should represent the “wild grandeur of the local geography triumph of Western civilization over that geography”, and he envisioned carvings of Louis and Clark, Chief Red Cloud, Sacagawea, and Crazy Horse. Borglum disagreed, stating he wanted the sculptures to have more ‘widespread appeal’. They decided to do US presidents.
The Conspiracy Theories...
So…behind the head of Abraham Lincoln…there is a chamber. The public is not allowed in. And there are some theories on what exist in that area…
All that is visible from the outside is an 18ft tall doorway. This, according to pictures on the internet, leads to an empty room approximately 75ft long with a 35ft ceiling. What is/was the purpose of this chamber?
The official explanation is that it is the unfinished Hall of Records…but…
Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
We discussed how a popular theory is that the chamber is housing or hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life. It has been theorized that the CIA instructed that the antechamber be built for the express use of secret UFO research. Oooooo. (gasp) MEN IN BLACK.
In keeping with this theory, Jonathan discussed a hiker, Jake Martinez, that hiked up Mount Rushmore in 2017 and found all manner of crazy crap in the antechamber after stumbing upon the entrance! He is said to have found flying saucer schematics, alien weaponry, and even alien bodies. And then, he mysteriously disappeared and has not been heard from since.
Aside from TikTok, I (Brandi) have not been able to find anything on this topic with the exception of one search result, and the page would not load no matter how long I tried. Coincidence? Hmm…
Here’s that TikTok if you want to check it out…
@enigmatic_myths_ Is Mount Rashmore A Secret Ufo Base Used By The CIA and Trump ? #conspiracy #theory #cia #mystery #secret #trump #ufo #alien ♬ original sound - Enigmatic_myths_
There’s also the Egyptian head that is supposedly hidden in the face of the mountain. As Jonathan said, it is off to the right of the faces, was never finished, and supposedly discusses the history of an ancient people that was purposely carved over to hide the past. Here’s an image of that…
Do you see it?
@litlakota Mount Rushmore is covering up Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Statue. You can see the Nemes Headress and Eyeliner on the face. #Nemes #fyp #ancientegyptian #mountrushmore #mtrushmore #egypt #pharoah #ancientamerica #hiddeninplainsight #greatreset #conspiracytiktok #woke #truth #lies #illuminati #exposedtruth #foryou #spiritualtiktok #nationalmonument #nationalpark #grandcanyon #southdakota #blackhills #egyptiangods #conspiracy #kingtut #mandelaeffect #sacred #spiritual #concioustiktok #mudflood #flatearth #viral #foryoupage ♬ 3D - Tech N9ne
There are even more theories and conspiracies and posits and hypotheses and conjectures and legends and myths and stories…
Peter is right that this could be a 2-parter to discuss all the things. What are your thoughts? Innocent antechamber or keeper of a secrety secret chamber?
On the YouTube...
Lil’ conspiracy video…check it out!
WHAT ELSE DID WE DISCUSS?
Crazy Horse Monument
Stone Mountain, GA
North by Northwest
Pareidolia
Definition: tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none.
Odie...aww
Brandi's future pair of ignorant podcast headphones...
Yes, please.
Strange Woods Recommends...
Richie Rich (1994) starring Macaulay Culkin post Home Alone franchise!
Black Phone (2021) starring Ethan Hawke
Thanks so much for joining us again for this episode! We’re always so grateful and thankful to you all for stopping by! We hope you had fun with us this week talking about the conspiracy and controversy of Mount Rushmore.
Please continue to join us and provide feedback so we can give you what you want!
If you haven’t joined our fanpage yet, make sure you get over there and link up! It’s on the FaceBook. The book of faces. The Book Face.
We’ll see you guys on the next one!
Remember to treat all your ills with presidential confection, and don’t ever forget to
STAY STRANGE! 😉
Some articles and sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore
- https://www.history.com/news/mount-rushmores-secret-chamber
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-strange-and-controversial-history-of-mount-rushmore
- https://www.startribune.com/feb-13-2010-crazy-horse-memorial-a-family-affair/84226842/
- https://10best.usatoday.com/destinations/georgia/atlanta/stone-mountain/attractions/stone-mountain-park/
- https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/hall-of-records.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia#:~:text=Pareidolia%20(%2F%CB%8Cp%C3%A6r%C9%AA,looks%20like%20a%20happy%20face.
Peter’s wife. Registered nurse. Uber-fan of The Strange Woods Podcast.
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