What) America's first replica of Stonehenge was built by mistake. Sam Hill was a wealthy railroad and utilities magnate who was also an early crusader for modern roads. Hill bought 7,000 acres of empty land along the Columbia River in 1908. He founded a town named Maryhill and tried to lure Quaker farmers to settle it. None came. A few years later, the town burned in a fire. In 1918, Hill surveyed what was left of Maryhill, chose the most dramatic spot (a windswept promontory high above the river), and knocked down an Inn that he had built there. Then he began erecting a full-size, astronomically-aligned, replica of Stonehenge.

    Hill believed the mistaken legend that the original in England had been used for human sacrifice. His replica was meant as a metaphorical memorial to the dead soldiers of World War I, a reminder that "humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war." Sam engineered his Stonehenge like a modern road using slabs of reinforced concrete. He had no interest in making it a picturesque ruin. Instead, Sam built it the way that he imagined the Druids would have built it if they'd had 20th century construction technology: uniform concrete blocks given an artificial lumpy exterior, then mortared into megaliths.

    Sam Hill, known for erratic bursts of manic energy, labored on his Stonehenge for twelve years before it was complete. By then he was in a deep depression and he died soon afterwards. He had himself buried next to Stonehenge, about halfway down the bluff, because he didn't get along with his family. And there is no easy path to his grave, because he wanted to be left alone. (1)

    Where) I-84 exit 104 in Oregon. Cross the river into Washington on Hwy 97 and drive 2.5 miles until it dead-ends at Lewis and Clark Hwy/Hwy 14. Turn right, drive one mile, then turn right onto Stonehenge Drive.

    Why) How could Pam not want to stand on top of a dramatic, wind swept promontory that overlooks the Columbia River?  How could Jason not want to see a modern version of Stonehenge that was built by a visionary, rich man?  This is another one of those can't miss Buckys.