Sylacauga, Alabama Jolson Shrine (California). Beautiful cream marble from Sylacauga can be found in hotels, offices, mausoleums, memorials and homes across the country. Noted sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, creator of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, sculpted a masterpiece from Alabama marble – the bust of Lincoln – which stands today in the rotunda of the nation's capitol. Borglum commented that the fine texture of Alabama marble enabled him to portray the expression of kindness on Lincoln's face that he had never been able to do with any other stone. By the 1940s endless uses for calcium products extracted from the marble deposits became
Gutzon Borglum Rushmore project, 1927–1941, was the brainchild of South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson. His first attempt with the face of Thomas Jefferson was blown up after two years. Dynamite was also used to remove large areas of rock from under Washington's brow. The initial pair of presidents, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson was soon joined by Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Ivan Houser, father of John Sherrill Houser, was assistant sculptor to Gutzon Borglum in the early years of carving; he began working with Borglum shortly after the inception of the monument and was with Borglum for a total of