Who named Mount Rushmore?
Charles Rushmore, a New York lawyer, was visiting the area in 1885. His host was a local named David Swanzey, who named the mountain in his guest’s honor. The mountain was known by various names until that time, including Sugarloaf Mountain, Cougar Mountain, and the Keystone Cliffs, but the new name of Mount Rushmore stuck. Charles Rushmore didn’t “discover” Mt. Rushmore. Charles E. Rushmore was an American businessman and attorney. In 1885 he was in the Black Hills of South Dakota representing a mining company. According to lore, he asked local miners about a nearby granite outcropping that had no name, and they responded by naming it after him.