It had been four years and five months since I visited Mystery Hill in Salem, NH with my family to see America’s Stonehenge. In the time between my two visits, I would make three trips to England, traveling to the original Stonehenge, as well as several other ancients sites.  A lot has happened in those four years and five months, no wonder I thought more time had elapsed.

Back in April of 2014, we were visiting the site with my sister and her family, and our four combined kids were more interested in climbing the boulders and chasing each other than searching for ancient signs and symbols, but magic was still afoot. It always seems to be at these ancient places…you just have to be aware of it.

While walking through the Visitor’s Center at the start of our visit, I admired the selenite pillars and remarked that I might purchase one on our way out. After watching the brief introductory video, we made our way outside to begin our journey at the Kids’ Gemstone Dig. Approximately two minutes into the dig, a large, rather dingy looking selenite wand appeared in daughter’s hands. Spurred on by the promise of a much larger reward than expected, three more sets of small hands began digging enthusiastically in the sand. Alas, only small polished stones appeared.

It seemed more than a coincidence…the talk of wanting a selenite wand, and within minutes having my daughter dig one up where there wasn’t supposed to be one…Later, while we were investigating the cave-like enclosures of rocks, a mysterious want of light appeared on the floor of one, where no light should have been. It looked, I thought, rather like the wand my daughter had dug up.

Despite these mysterious occurrences, I found I was disappointed by the site. I think many people are. It really looks nothing like its namesake, at least on the surface, and although I hadn’t yet been to the original Stonehenge, I had certainly seen photographs.

The landscape at America’s Stonehenge is wooded and rocky, typical of New England, and the main attraction, when you reach it, is hidden from a distance and much, much, smaller than the megalithic structure across the pond. Yet there are similarities, more than at first meets the eye, to the original and to the many other mysterious, ancient sites across the globe.

If you feel into the site, you will likely either notice a quiet peace, or a stirring of magic long forgotten. The effect is not as strong as being among the megaliths in England, but both sites wear the effects of footsteps and hands. The original structures have been altered by the imprints of humans. The energy that feels like magic dampened as though sunk deep within the body of Earth, waiting to be stirred back to life…

Studies performed with radiocarbon dating show evidence that the site in Salem, New Hampshire is as old as 2000 B.C., but there have been many inhabitants since this time. Native American artifacts have been found in the area, including remnants of canoes and a 2000-year-old wigwam, as well as several stones that resemble animals (I will have to look for these during a future trip, as we were more focused on other things and found only one or two).

In 1825, a man named Jonathan Pattee took up residence on Mystery Hill. Why he claimed this spot for his homestead is still up for debate, but it is indisputable that he left his mark. One can only guess at what the site looked like before Pattee decided to make it his homestead. Many stones were altered and repurposed by his hands, some of which were used to create his fireplace, others part of his foundation and storage caves. There are some people who believe the entire area was created by Pattee. This seems highly unlikely when you realize the scope of the site, which extends far beyond his homestead area to include standing stones aligned with lunar and solar events that occurred approximately 4,000 years ago. Why Pattee would configure stones into an oracle chamber resembling those in Egypt and Greece seems rather odd as well, not to mention balancing a 4.5 ton slab above it to manufacture soap…but more on that later. It seems odd, in general, that he would choose this place for his home. I can only imagine what he would have seen if he allowed himself to.

Whatever that might have been, we were here to find out. Three middle-aged women on a mission, carrying offerings for the ancestors and fey folk, a drum, water, and open minds. It happened to be a very hot, humid day for September, and we had only a few hours. We debated whether to watch the introductory video after spending several minutes surveying the artifacts in the visitor’s center. When we stepped into the auditorium, the movie was just finishing its cycle, but we were there just in time to catch words that spoke about America’s Stonehenge being on a line that connects it to Stonehenge in England and extends down to Newport’s Tower. I wasn’t even thinking about dragons until I stepped outside…

To be continued…