One of the most recognizable landmarks in the Great Plains is the Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, S.D. The faces of four former presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, look down from the mountainside, thanks to the idea for a stone carving by South Dakota historian Doane Robinson in 1923.
Robinson entrusted the project to sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who began working on the famous carving in October 1927. The sculptor worked on the memorial for the remainder of his life until he died in 1941. His son worked for a few months to make some finishing touches. Dedications for all four faces happened upon their individual completions in 1934, 1936, 1937 and 1939. The monument is expected to last for tens of thousands of years because of the long erosion time of limestone.
The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park in St. Louis includes the city's most famous feature, the Gateway Arch, and the city's old courthouse. The park is a memorial to America's expansion from sea to sea led by President Thomas Jefferson.
The Gateway Arch is 630 feet tall and made of stainless steel. Architect Eero Saarinen designed the modern structure that includes an unusual trolley built to take visitors to the top for an incomparable view of the surrounding area.
Far below the summit of the arch is the Old Courthouse, where courtrooms have been restored to allow visitors to see the room as it looked when the Dred Scott trial took place in 1857. Dred Scott was a slave born in Virginia who came to St. Louis and sued for his freedom during the historically significant Scott v. Sandford case. He was unsuccessful.
The Cherokee National Capitol Building in Tahlequah, Okla., is the only Cherokee Nation historical landmark in the country. This building was constructed in 1870 and remains today as one of the most significant historical places of the American Indians.
The area was the site of the gathering of 17 American Indian tribes who met at the site and formed the International Indian Council in 1843. The capitol was built on the grounds where the meeting took place and tribal alliances were strengthened. A recent grant from the National Park Service will enable the Cherokee Nation to preserve the site for future generations of visitors.
