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On this day in history, September 17, 1937, Abraham Lincoln carving is officially dedicated at Mount Rushmore

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Serving as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, Abraham Lincoln led the country through some of its darkest years. 

He is considered by many scholars to be the greatest president our nation has had, according to Visit Rapid City in South Dakota. 

He died the next day, on April 15, 1865.

The busts of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln tower over the Black Hills at Mount Rushmore National Monument on July 1, 2020, in Keystone, South Dakota.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The carved faces of the American presidents represent one of the world’s largest examples of sculpture.

The carved faces of the American presidents are shaped from granite rock face and were created between 1927 and 1941.

Mount Rushmore is also one of America’s most popular tourist attractions, as History.com notes. 

Bikers stop to take in Mt. Rushmore in August 2021. Every August, hundreds of thousands of motorcycling enthusiasts are attracted to the southwest corner of South Dakota for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The mountain itself, at an elevation of 5,725 feet, was named in 1885 for Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer. 

However, many Native Americans believe Mount Rushmore represents a desecration of lands considered sacred by the Lakota Sioux, the original residents of the Black Hills region who were displaced by White settlers and gold miners in the late 19th century, the same source recounted.

Goal of attracting tourism

He suggested Red Cloud, the Sioux chief who signed the Fort Laramie treaty, as a potential subject, the same source chronicled.

In the last days of his presidency, President Calvin Coolidge signed legislation appropriating $250,000 in federal funds for the Mount Rushmore project.

Then, in August 1924, after the original sculptor he contracted with was unavailable, Robinson contacted Gutzon Borglum, an American sculptor who was then working on carving an image of Confederate General Robert E. Lee into the face of Georgia’s Stone Mountain, according to multiple sources.

In 1929, during the last days of his presidency, President Calvin Coolidge signed legislation appropriating $250,000 in federal funds for the Mount Rushmore project and created the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission to oversee Mount Rushmore’s completion, according to History.com. 

The likeness of Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore was officially dedicated on this day in history on Sept. 17, 1937.  (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

"But with the onset of the Great Depression, Mount Rushmore quickly suffered from financial troubles and multiple work stoppages. It took 14 years to construct, of which only six were invested in actually carving. Most of that time was spent trying to raise money and political and public support," according to The Press Democrat.

In the end, Mount Rushmore was built for $1 million, of which 85% was federal funding, the same source indicated. 

On Oct. 31, 1941, Mount Rushmore National Memorial was declared a completed project, according to the National Park Service. 

Today, more than two million people a year travel to the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore, according to the National Park Service.