We took a day trip to Stonehenge!

The Stonehenge at Maryhill, Washington.

This photo looking east was taken from the Cape Horn Viewpoint on Washington’s SR 14.

It was a day trip from Portland, Oregon.

The Maryhill Stonehenge is an exact replica of England’s Stonehenge although it is constructed from concrete and was commissioned by Sam Hill for a memorial to those who died in World War I.

The Maryhill Stonehenge was the first memorial in the United States to honor the dead of the First World War and was originally dedicated on July 4, 1918.

Hill chose a ledge below his Stonehenge replica for his burial site.

Admission is free.

Who is Sam Hill?

Sam Hill, American businessman, lawyer, railroad executive, and advocate of good roads was born into a Quaker family in 1857. As a lawyer in Minneapolis he represented railroad tycoon James J. Hill (no relation) and the Great Northern Railway. He eventually married the boss’s daughter, Mary Hill.

In 1902 Sam Hill left the employ of his father in law and moved to Seattle, Washington.

Sam Hill started buying up what had been a small settlement called “Columbia” on a bluff above the Columbia River to develop a Quaker farming community which he named Maryhill after his wife and daughter. The region was too dry and without a convenient water supply and, therefore, abandoned.

The US 97 bridge crossing from Washington state to Biggs Junction, Oregon.

“Sam Hill was an “inveterate globetrotter”. He was fluent in German, French, and Italian, and learned at least a moderate amount of Russian. Hill made at least fifty separate trips to Europe in the course of his lifetime and visited Japan nine times. All of Hill’s extensive travels were during an era when transportation was limited to surface vehicles and sea vessels.”   Wikipedia

Just down the road from the Stonehenge is the Maryhill Museum of Art.

The Beaux-Art mansion was designed to be Sam Hill’s private residence, but neither he nor any of his family ever lived there. It eventually became the Maryhill Museum of Art and was dedicated in 1926 by Queen Marie of Romania.

During his travels Sam Hill made friends with Queen Marie of Romania, a grand daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Great Britain.

Queen Marie of Romania donated many personal items such as this crown to the museum.

Maryhill Museum of Art is a small museum with an eclectic collection including sculptures and watercolors by Auguste Rodin, and Native American art.

This exhibit displays the original beaded Native American gown that is pictured in the historic photo behind it.

Native American beadwork.

Maryhill Museum of Art is open daily March 15 to November 15 from 10 am to 5 pm.

Besides Maryhill Museum of Art and Stonehenge, Sam Hill is also responsible for building the Peace Arch on the border between Blaine, Washington, and British Columbia as a monument to 100 years of peace between the US and Canada .

His promotion of modern roads is possibly his greatest legacy as he was extremely influential in the construction of the first modern road in the Pacific Northwest:  the now 102-year-old scenic Columbia River Highway in Oregon. (Link to prior post: King of the Roads).

A visit to Maryhill makes a delightful, scenic day trip from Portland. We traveled one way via Oregon’s I-84 and the other via Washington’s Hwy 14.

Where shall we meet next time?