Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial

In 1915 Sam Hill visited the real Stonehenge in England in the company of Lord Kitchener, then Britain's Secretary of State for War. As Hill later told the story, someone remarked that the ancient Britons had offered human sacrifices to their gods of war at that circle. Hill, a lifelong Quaker and pacifist, took the idea and turned it on modern times.

To him, the millions of young men being fed into the trenches of the Great War were a form of needless human sacrifice, no less than any offering on an ancient altar. He resolved to build his own Stonehenge as a memorial, he said, to remind his fellow man of that incredible folly. The monument is not a celebration of war but a reproach to it.

The altar stone was dedicated on July 4, 1918, while the war was still raging, making Maryhill Stonehenge the first monument in the country built to honor the American dead of World War One. The full circle was completed in 1929 and rededicated that Memorial Day, when the names of local servicemen from Klickitat County who died in the war were set on the pillars.

Decades later the memorial was expanded. A separate monument was added nearby to honor county residents lost in World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam, and the refurbished Stonehenge and the new memorial were dedicated together in 1995. Sam Hill himself is buried in a crypt on the slope just below the circle, looking out over the river he loved.

Built like a piece of modern engineering, from slabs of reinforced concrete rather than quarried rock, the replica is aligned so that the sun rises over the heel stone at the summer solstice, just as the original does. Walking into the completed ring gives you something the real Stonehenge cannot, the sense of the monument whole, the way its builders may have first seen it.

The setting does the rest. The circle sits on the lip of a bluff with the wide Columbia Gorge spread out below, the river winding east and west, and the Oregon hills across the water. It is a stark, wind-scoured spot that suits the memorial's message, and the light at the ends of the day is unforgettable.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial, near Goldendale on a bluff above the Columbia River in southern Washington, is a full-scale replica of England's famous Stonehenge, built by the entrepreneur Sam Hill as a memorial to the soldiers of Klickitat County who died in World War I. Unlike the ruined original, Hill's version was constructed to show how Stonehenge is believed to have originally appeared, complete and intact. Made of concrete and dramatically sited overlooking the Columbia River Gorge, it stands as one of the first World War I memorials in the country. With its striking full-size Stonehenge replica and moving purpose, the Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial offers a unique and memorable stop in southern Washington.

Sam Hill, the visionary entrepreneur behind the nearby Maryhill Museum, built the Stonehenge replica as a memorial to the young men of Klickitat County who died serving in World War I. Hill, a Quaker and pacifist, was moved by the war's toll, and, having been told at the time that the original Stonehenge had been used as a site of human sacrifice, he intended the memorial to symbolize that humanity was still being needlessly sacrificed to the god of war. He built it as a complete, full-size version to show how Stonehenge originally looked. This poignant anti-war purpose gives the striking monument deep meaning.

You can walk among and around the full-scale Stonehenge replica, taking in its impressive scale and the moving World War I memorial with the names of the fallen, admire the dramatic setting on a bluff high above the Columbia River Gorge, take photos of the striking monument against the river and sky, and reflect on its anti-war message. The site is free to visit and open-air. Sunrise and sunset are especially beautiful here. With its full-size Stonehenge replica, poignant memorial, and stunning Columbia River setting, the Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial offers a unique and reflective stop in southern Washington.

As an outdoor monument, the Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial can be visited year-round, with spring through fall offering pleasant weather, though the exposed bluff can be hot and very windy in summer and cold in winter, so dressing for the conditions helps. Sunrise and sunset are especially dramatic and beautiful, with the monument silhouetted against the sky and river, making the golden hours a favorite time for visitors and photographers. Clear days offer the best views over the gorge. For the most beautiful experience, aim for a clear day, ideally at sunrise or sunset, at the Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial.

The Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial is near Goldendale on the Columbia River in southern Washington, close to the Maryhill Museum of Art also built by Sam Hill, the Maryhill Winery, the Goldendale Observatory, and within reach of the Columbia River Gorge attractions and the Dalles in Oregon across the river. That makes the Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial a unique stop to combine with the Maryhill Museum of Art, the Columbia River Gorge, and the other attractions of southern Washington on a visit to the state.