A pen and a henge, Two big stone Structures

This morning was going to start with a quick trip to the Old Idaho Penitentiary Museum followed by a long drive to southern Washington. When I arrived at the penitentiary I found that they were on winter hours, noon to 5pm. I had about 2 hours before they opened. I was about to leave when I noticed a small Mining Museum next door. So I went in to kill some time. When I signed in the woman working the museum asked where I was from. Come to find out, she was from Brewerton; her family built and operates the Fort Brewerton Blockhouse Museum. We ended up talking for close to an hour. Then I went over to the woman’s prison and looked around there, still I had 45 minutes to wait, and a long drive ahead of me. I got in my car to leave and drove a few blocks to a gas station. Filled the tank and got ready to hit the road. Fifteen more minuets till the pen opened. I drove back and took the quick tour. It was worth the wait. I got on the road about 1:30pm. Fortunately I would be crossing back into the Pacific Time zone, gaining an extra hour.

Sam Hill's Stonehenge

My next stop was the granddaddy of all henges, The Sam Hill Stonehenge in Maryhill, WA. Is probably the first of all the "Clonehenges". But Sam didn't just build this to attract attention. While Sam was in England during WWI he saw the original Stonehenge and was told that it was used for human sacrifices. He remarked "humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war." After returning home from the war, Sam wanted to pay tribute to the 13 men from the area that did not return home. He didn't want their sacrifice to go unnoticed. That thought reminded him of Stonehenge. On the pillars within the circular structure are 13 bronze plaques with the names of those 13 men. Sam completed this memorial in 1929. This is considered to be the first memorial to WWI solders in the United States.

A pen and a henge, Two big stone Structures

Goldendale, United States