If Stonehenge is on your bucket list, you can’t make it all the way to England, and you happen to find yourself in the Columbia River Gorge, you’re in luck! A life-sized replica of the famous rock monument was constructed near the town of Maryhill, Washington.
Created as a memorial for the fallen soldiers from the county during World War I, the reinforced concrete structure was built to replicate the original as closely as possible. Samuel Hill, who started building it in 1918, thought the original Stonehenge was constructed as a place for human sacrifice, and that aligned with his idea of building a replica and dedicating it to the fallen soldiers of the Great War who were from that area.
The nation’s first WWI memorial was completed in 1929 and re-dedicated. There are 14 plaques placed on the pillars with the names of local service men who lost their lives during the war. Two years later, Samuel Hill died. Just below the memorial sits Hill’s crypt with his epitaph: “Samuel Hill: Amid nature’s great unrest, he sought rest.”
It may seem like an odd place for a replica of one of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, but for the man who built it, it gave him peace. It’s now a popular roadside stop for those traveling through the gorge. And on a clear day, it’s a great place to take in the views of Mount Hood and the Columbia River.
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