The Story
In 1939 Chief Henry Standing Bear invited Korczak Ziolkowski, who had assisted on Mount Rushmore, to carve a memorial honoring Crazy Horse and Native American heritage. The first blast on Thunderhead Mountain came June 3, 1948. Ziolkowski worked it — later with his wife Ruth and their ten children — until his death in 1982, after which Ruth led the project for decades. Korczak insisted it never take state or federal funding, a policy still honored. The face was dedicated in 1998; the full sculpture, designed to dwarf Mount Rushmore at 563 feet high, remains far from finished.
Surprising Facts
→ It has never accepted a dollar of government funding, by explicit founder's policy.
→ Crazy Horse's extended index finger alone will be about 29.5 feet long.
→ Only the face (finished 1998) is complete after more than 75 years of work.