Oct. 3, 2016: Stonehenge replica at Maryhill, Washington taken with iPhone hipstamatic app. On a bluff overlooking the Columbia River sits a full size replica of Stonehenge. Built by Maryhill, Washington, founder Sam Hill, the replica is a monument to local residents killed in World War One. Hill's Stonehenge is his version of the original built by the Druids, but instead of large stones, he used modern concrete blocks. A good history is provided by a plaque at the site: The structure before you is the first monument in our nation to military personnel who gave their lives in World War 1. Mentioning 13 young Klickitat County men, it also serves as lasting reminder of the works of Samuel Hill, patron of this region. He established a townsite here, with postoffice, hotel, general store and nearly 10 miles of experimental paved roads, and the Maryhill Museum three miles to the west – all on his own land. His tomb is 50 yards distant, on the opposite side of this monument. The design duplicates in size and original from England’s famous Stonehenge (dated 1900-1350 B.C.) on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. When Hill, a Quaker pacifist, visited England during the 1914-18 conflict, saw Stonehenge and was told it had been used for human sacrifices to pagan gods he remarked: “After all our civilization, the flower of humanity still is being sacrificed to the god of war on fields of battle.” From that inspiration came this monument, built by Hill. On July 4, 1918 the altar stone was dedicated. The full structure was completed and dedicated May 30, 1929. Today the sacrifice legend is generally discredited. Current belief is that Stonehenge was a device used by stone-age astronomers to measure time and mark seasons of the year by observing positions of the sun and moon. … I've posted over 30 images in this flickr album: 2016 Stonehenge replica. Then there's Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska: 2013 Carhenge
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Scott Harrison
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