Stonehenge's 'awe' recognized with Historic Places designation

By Tom Peterson

Stonehenge above Maryhill just east of The Dalles has an aura.

Maryhill Museum of Art Executive Director Colleen Shafroth

“I feel awe,” said Colleen Shafroth of visiting the World War I memorial. “It’s such a stark landscape, but you can also see the beauty of Mount Hood and the Gorge.”

Shafroth, Executive Director of Maryhill Museum of Art, said Sam Hill’s epitaph described it well. His ashes were entombed at the site. 

It reads: Amid nature’s great unrest, he sought rest 

What it must have been like in 1931 when Hill, the founder of the Columbia River Historic Highway and builder of Maryhill Castle, was put to rest there. 

It overlooking the epic Celilo Falls. And the great sound of rushing water thundered with spring runoff.

“It must have been full of sound and fury back then,” Shafroth said her voice trailing off.

Erected as the nation’s first WWI memorial and dedicated in 1918 to the servicemen of Klickitat County, Washington, who died in the service of their country during the Great War, Hill’s Stonehenge Memorial is a monument to heroism and peace.

And it is now recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Shafroth said she received the letter of admittance on June 28. The nomination narrative for Stonehenge Memorial was prepared by Architectural Resources Group (ARG) in Portland.

“We’re very excited about it,” Shafroth said. “It is an important place which we all knew all along… It’s a really cool thing that it is being honored in this way.”

History of Maryhill’s Stonehenge from the Maryhill Museum of Art:

Sam Hill erroneously believed that the original Stonehenge was constructed as a place of human sacrifice. Concluding there was a parallel between the loss of life in WWI and the sacrifices at ancient Stonehenge, he set out to build a replica on the cliffs of the Columbia as a reminder of those sacrifices and the “incredible folly” of the war.

Guided by leading authorities on archaeology, astronomy, and engineering, Hill combined their knowledge to duplicate, as nearly as possible, the original size and design of the ancient Neolithic ruin in England.

The original idea was to use local stone, however, when the rock proved unsatisfactory, Hill decided to use reinforced concrete. The rough, hand-hewn-looking texture was created by lining the wooden forms with crumpled tin.

On June 8, 1918, a total eclipse of the sun was predicted, with the best viewing point in the vicinity of Goldendale, Washington. Consequently, some of the best astronomers of the day were in Klickitat County. Professor Campbell, of Lick Observatory at the University of California, agreed to fix the position of the altar stone. Unlike the ancient Stonehenge, it is aligned to the astronomical horizon rather than the actual midsummer sunrise. This results in a three-degree difference from the original structure. Combined with a five-degree difference in latitude and the manner in which the surrounding hills obscure the actual horizon, Stonehenge Memorial is difficult to use as an astronomical calendar.

On July 4, 1918, the altar stone was dedicated with a plaque that reads:

To the memory of the soldiers and sailors of Klickitat County who gave their lives in defense of their country. This monument is erected in hope that others inspired by the example of their valor and their heroism may share in that love of liberty and burn with that fire of patriotism which death alone can quench.

Stonehenge Memorial was completed in 1929 and re-dedicated on Memorial Day of that year. The men honored at Stonehenge are James Henry Allyn, Charles Auer, Dewey V. Bromley, John W. Cheshier, William O. Clary, Evan Childs, James D. Duncan, Harry Gotfredson, Robert F. Graham, Louis Leidl, Carl A. Lester, Edward Lindblad, Henry O. Piendl and Robert F. Venable.

These men, all members of the American Expeditionary Force, represented the U.S. Army (Cavalry, Coast Artillery, Engineers and Infantry), U.S. Marines and the U.S. Navy.

When Samuel Hill died in 1931, his body was cremated and the ashes placed in a crypt just below the Stonehenge Memorial. The original crypt deteriorated in the next 25 years and was replaced in 1955 by a granite monument bearing his epitaph: “Samuel Hill: Amid nature’s great unrest, he sought rest.”

 Klickitat County Veterans Memorial

In 1995 the Klickitat County Veterans Memorial was erected near Hill’s Stonehenge to honor those who have died in service of their country since WWI. The project was a partnership between the Maryhill Museum of Art and the Klickitat County Veterans Association.

“It is a sacred space for a lot of veterans,” Shafroth said. “It recognizes the young men that gave their lives. They made the ultimate sacrifice. That takes a strong commitment to the country and the world, and they were mostly very young. So young. So, it’s sad too.”

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To make donations to Stonehenge or to see the current exhibits on display at the Maryhill Museum of Art, click here.