About Stonehenge II
The Texas Hill Country contains its own Stonehenge, although nobody needs to debate who built it or how the stones got there. Stonehenge II was created by Al Shepperd with help from his neighbor Doug Hill, using modern materials to reproduce the basic form of the famous prehistoric monument at a scale close enough to feel wonderfully unnecessary.
The structure stands at roughly 90 percent of the height and 60 percent of the width of the original Stonehenge. Shepperd began the project after receiving a large piece of limestone from Hill, and what started with a single upright stone expanded into a full ring. The replica was designed to resemble weathered stone while avoiding the rather inconvenient task of moving gigantic natural blocks.
The creators did not stop with British prehistory. Two approximately 13-foot-tall heads inspired by the monumental figures of Easter Island were added nearby, creating a condensed international monument tour in the middle of Texas.
Stonehenge II was originally located near Hunt before being moved to the grounds of the Hill Country Arts Foundation in Ingram. The old roadside project now has a permanent public setting where visitors can walk around it without needing an ocean crossing, an archaeology degree, or a satisfactory explanation for why central Texas needed its own Stonehenge in the first place.