No One Knows Who They Were or What They Were Doing: The Many Stonehenges of the United States

In ancient times,
Hundreds of years before the dawn of history
Lived a strange race of people, the Druids

– Stonehenge, This is Spinal Tap

Stonehenge is arguably one of the most iconic archaeological sites in the world. It stands as a testament to the ancient past, as well as the enduring mystery that shrouds the site which still captivates the general public today. As with all iconic imagery, of course, Stonehenge has been emulated, reformatted, and straight up copied in places around the world.

In the United States alone there are over two dozen Stonehenge-related roadside attractions. Some are faithful reproductions…others have taken, let’s say interesting liberties in their reinterpretations…and well, there’s a few places that just found a bunch of rocks and named it a Stonehenge. Here’s a couple of my favourite examples…anyone up for an American Stonehenge road trip?

I’ve written a more comprehensive post about this allegedly “ancient” Stonehenge previously on the blog. The owners of the site claim that, similar to the Stonehenge in England, ancient European seafarers made the journey to North America and built a twin in Salem, New Hampshire of all places. Evidence for this theory exists in “Ogham” and “Phoenician” carvings found in the stone. In actuality, American Stonehenge (aka Mystery Hill) is most likely the remains of stone farm storage that has been transformed into a roadside attraction. But hey! There’s an alpaca farm too, so that’s fun.

Over in Missouri, we have our first (of many) transportation-based Stonehenges. Boat Henge is, as you may guessed by the name, is made entirely out of fiberglass boats. According to the official website, similar attention was paid to the mathematical and spatial correlation between the engineered arc of the boats and how it is orientated with the sun – in fact, the boats themselves are measured to about the same size as the stones of the original Stonehenge.

In Alliance, Nebraska is another transportation-based henge…also arguably one of the more accurate reproductions. Car Henge was created by artist Jim Reinders as a tribute to his father and completed construction on the Summer Solstice of 1987. Reinders spent much of his time living in England studying the construction of Stonehenge, which led to this relatively faithful creation in Nebraska. Following the same proportions of Stonehenge, Car Henge is created with 39 different automobiles, with the heel stone represented by a 1962 Cadillac.

Foam Henge is an art installation constructed in Natural Bridge, Virginia in 2004 and eventually relocated to Centreville, Virginia in 2017. Created by fiberglass sculptor Mark Cline, it is a reproduction of the original Stonehenge made entirely out of…wait for it…foam. Cline work with a former tour guide from England to make sure that the stones were replicated perfectly in foam. Given how light and easy the material is, it only took two days to create and erect Foamhenge.

In Topeka, Kansas, artist Ron Lessman has added his personal reinterpretation of Stonehenge in the form of six trucks. Truck Henge is the centrepiece of a larger collection of Lessman’s other recycled artworks. And you thought massive stones being erected was impressive…what about giant antique trucks?

I have always been fascinated by what archaeological excavations of roadside attractions and tourist traps in the future would be interpreted as, especially when they are reproductions of other iconic things (especially when they are reproducing short-term nostalgia, i.e. classic cars, etc.). Will nostalgia and kitsch require a different framework by archaeologists? Stay tuned for more discussion at a later date…

Anonymous (2018) History. Boathenge. http://www.boathenge.net/history.html

Anonymous (2017) History. Carhenge of Alliance, Nebraska. http://carhenge.com/history/

Kaushik (2013) Foamhenge – Stonehenge Replica in Virginia Built of Styroform. Amusing Planet. http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/02/foamhenge-stonehenge-replica-in.html

Kirby, D., Smith K., and Wilkins, M. (2018) America Unhenged. Roadside America. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29025

Reiner, R. (1984) This is Spinal Tap. Embassy Pictures.

Stokes, K. (2006) Ron Lessman’s Truckhenge. Kansas Travel. http://www.kansastravel.org/truckhenge.html