America's Stonehenge

This article is about the archaeological site in New Hampshire. For the former granite monument in Georgia, see Georgia Guidestones. For the replica in Washington state, see Maryhill Stonehenge.
Some of the rocks at America's Stonehenge.

42°50′35″N 71°12′25″W / 42.84306°N 71.20694°W / 42.84306; -71.20694 America's Stonehenge is a privately owned tourist attraction and archaeological site consisting of a number of large rocks and stone structures scattered around roughly 30 acres (12 hectares) within the town of Salem, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is open to the public for a fee as part of a recreational area which includes snowshoe trails and an alpaca farm.

A number of hypotheses exist as to the origin and purpose of the structures. One viewpoint is a mixture of land-use practices of local farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries and construction of structures by owner William Goodwin, an insurance executive who purchased the area in 1937.[1][2] Some claim that the site has a pre-Columbian European origin, but this is regarded as pseudoarchaeological.[3] Archaeologist David Starbuck has said: "It is widely believed that Goodwin may have 'created' much of what is visible at the site today."[4]: 106 

The site was first dubbed Mystery Hill[5][6] by William Goodwin. This was the official name of the site until 1982, when it was renamed "America's Stonehenge", a term coined in a news article in the early 1960s. The rebranding was an effort to separate it from roadside oddity sites and to reinforce the idea that it is an ancient archaeological site. The area is named after Stonehenge in England, although there is no evidence of cultural or historical connection between the two.

It is mentioned, as Mystery Hill, on New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 72.

  1. ^ Wright, Karen "Light Elements: Yankee Doodle Druid", Discover (February 1998)
  2. ^ Professor at Central Connecticut State University view of site's history Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Fitzgerald, Brian. "Archaeology professor debunks claims for ancient rock structures as pseudoscientific fallacy". B.U. Bridge (February 1, 2002)
  4. ^ Starbuck, David R. (2006). The Archeology of New Hampshire: Exploring 10,000 years in the Granite State. University of New Hampshire Press. ISBN 978-1-58465-562-6.
  5. ^ Greenberg, Joel (March 20, 1977). "Mysteries in Stone – Near the Dairy Queen". Detroit Free Press. North Salem, New Hampshire. Knight Newspapers.
  6. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mystery Hill