Visiting America’s Stonehenge

On a beautiful Fall day during our trip to New England, we had the opportunity to visit America’s Stonehenge. Bet you didn’t know that America had a Stonehenge?  Neither did I!  But once we discovered that it was only about a 30 minute drive from Salem, Massachusetts, we put it on our itinerary.

How could we not?  I mean, there is only a slim chance that I’ll ever get to see Stonehenge in England; so, as far as I was concerned, America’s Stonehenge was a MUST SEE.

I’ll tell ya, I wasn’t expecting much, so when we did lay our eyes on this very curious man made formation of stones and rocks, I was quite impressed.

The entire site is currently under archaeological study,  and there are various arguments among experts as to the actual age of when the stones were placed in this location.  You can read more about American’s Stonehenge, here.

Warning: this post is very photo heavy, as I want to do more show-an-tell than speak-and-tell for this amazing site,  but I will set this photo frenzy up for you.

-There are a mass of stone-lined trails that lead up to a summit.

-At the summit there is a small village of stone houses (really more like small rooms) that are scattered around, but often connecting to each other at the same time.

-Some of the stone rooms lead to other rooms and passageways (almost in a maze-like fashion).

-There are also various stone markers that have a point (pointing upwards).  These markers appear to be for the purpose of lining up with the sun and moon during various times of the year.

America’s Stonehenge: Haverhill Rd. in Salem, New Hampshire

The following photos go in the order of: trails, summit, close-ups, and stone markers

These trails wind around throughout the 40 acre stretch of land with most of the trails leading to the summit.

My son is in the photo above, which gives you an idea of the size of the chambers.

Much of the area is currently fenced off and closed at night for security purposes, but the main area of the ruins site (the summit) is spread across about 1/4 acre, give or take.

Although the full purpose of the design is not known, the belief is that the stone city was used for prayer and rituals, as well as keeping track of time like a calendar.   Notice how this chamber has a peep hole (bottom left of chamber).

View from inside one of the chambers.

This in one of the stone markers.

In this photo, if you look in the upper left, you can see one of the stone markers.  At certain times of the year, the sun would (and still does)  shine directly over the marker casting a shadow of sorts onto the stone “god” in the forefront.

It may look like there is garbage in the center of that formation, but I believe that it might actually be “offerings” from previous visitors to the ruins.

***

Visiting these ruins was one of my favorite stops along our journey through New England.

I hope these photos do justice to America’s Stonehenge, and that you enjoyed.

There is a visitors-learning center at the bottom of the summit that offers plenty more information for visitors.

Oh, and they also brew fresh Green Mountain coffee, by-the-cup, so you can bet I had me a cuppa once we made our descent.

How about that New England Fall color?!!

Mom and son selfie at America’s Stonehenge 2014

DIY Outdoors decor inspiration take-away….

Several of these log benches were placed along the stone pathways.

How I would love to have a yard big enough for a fire pit and several of these for seating…one day.

You can see more of our New England trip, here.

Have a rockin’ weekend ~ Amy