Presidents' Mountain Hides Humanity's Most Terrifying Secrets

Behind the head of Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore lies a sealed chamber that no tourist is allowed to enter. This is the secret rooms history that Hollywood blockbusters got wrong — the real story of the time capsule that sculptor Gutzon Borglum spent his life trying to build. Few projects rival the ambition of Borglum's vision for Mount Rushmore. This documentary takes you behind the granite façade of South Dakota's most iconic monument and into the unfinished tunnel known as the Hall of Records — perhaps the most extraordinary chapter in the secret rooms history of America. We trace how, in the depths of the Great Depression, four hundred workers descended sheer cliffs in woven seats to carve sixty-foot faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, using over ninety percent dynamite to remove the granite. ⏱ TIMELINE 00:00 Mount Rushmore's Secret Rooms History Begins 00:57 Borglum's Lost Wall — Hidden History Secrets 02:55 The Hall of Records — Secret Rooms History of America 05:24 The Six Grandfathers — Lost Civilizations of the Black Hills 08:21 Four Hundred Workers on a Granite Cliff — Mysteries of History 09:54 Stone That Refused to Obey — Archaeology Beneath the Granite 12:08 The Sculptor Who Died — Historical Mysteries of Gutzon Borglum 14:58 1998 — The Secret Rooms History Time Capsule Sealed 18:02 Erosion and Wind — Ancient Mysteries Carved in Stone Special focus on the Hall of Records — a hidden chamber located directly behind Lincoln's head, and the most fascinating chapter in the secret rooms history of America's monuments. Although the U.S. government cut funding in nineteen forty-one leaving the tunnel unfinished, in nineteen ninety-eight a time capsule was finally sealed inside. It contains sixteen porcelain panels engraved with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, biographical accounts of the four presidents, and the chronicled history of America. This monument is more than a tourist attraction. It is a message carved into stone that resists time for millions of years. From Doane Robinson's original letter in nineteen twenty-five to the bronze eagle that was supposed to mark the entrance, this is the full story of Mount Rushmore — and the chamber that Hollywood blockbusters like National Treasure: Book of Secrets got wrong. #MountRushmore #HallOfRecords #SecretRoomsHistory