Mystery Hill, aka America’s Stonehenge
The Pattee family settled on this rocky hilltop in Salem, New Hampshire in 1802 and built their home among existing stone ruins.
They were Revolutionary War veterans, farmers, and shoemakers who used the stone chambers as root cellars and sold quarried rock from the property.
Then William Goodwin, an insurance man obsessed with proving Irish monks reached America first, bought the property. Here’s what’s happened since then at America’s Stonehenge, which you can visit for $18 a ticket.
Trying to Prove the Irish Connection
In 1937, insurance executive William Goodwin paid cash for thirty acres of stone ruins in Salem, New Hampshire.
He was dead certain that Irish Culdee monks had fled Viking raiders and built a monastery there around 1000 AD, centuries before Columbus.
Goodwin found underground chambers, stone walls, and a four-and-a-half-ton granite slab with drainage grooves, and he spent years moving rocks to match his theory.
The “Sacrificial Table” Looks Exactly Like What You’d Expect
The centerpiece is a massive 4.5-ton stone slab with grooves carved into it that drain into a spout. It’s literally called the Sacrificial Table, and yeah, it looks ominous.
The channels could’ve been used for blood drainage during ancient rituals, or—and this is where it gets mundane—it might’ve been a colonial-era cider press.
Underground Chambers That Feel Like Ancient Panic Rooms
Scattered throughout the site are stone chambers built underground, some so tight you have to crawl through them. These aren’t your typical New England root cellars, and they’re made with precisely fitted stones and stay cool year-round.
Walking through them feels like exploring a Bronze Age bunker system. Whether they stored food, served religious purposes, or were just really elaborate storm shelters, nobody knows for sure.
The Stones Line Up With the Stars Like a Prehistoric GPS
Here’s where things get really interesting: the stones are positioned to track the sun and moon throughout the year. Standing stones mark exactly where the sun rises on summer solstice, winter solstice, and the equinoxes.
Either ancient astronomers built this place, or it’s the world’s most elaborate coincidence. The precision is impressive enough that modern astronomers still visit to study the alignments.
Strange Carvings That Look Like Ancient Graffiti
Various stones have markings that some experts swear are ancient writing and possibly Phoenician, Celtic, or other Old World scripts.
Others say they’re just natural rock scratches or modern forgeries.
An “Oracle Chamber” That Amplifies Voices in Creepy Ways
One chamber has a speaking tube that connects to a hidden underground room. Talk into the tube from below, and your voice comes out crystal clear above ground, creating an eerie “voice of the gods” effect.
Most Archaeologists Think It’s Just Really Old Farm Equipment
The party-pooper explanation is that colonial farmer Jonathan Pattee built most of this in the 1800s for practical purposes, such as root cellars, animal pens, quarrying stones. The “Sacrificial Table” was probably for making cider or soap.
Local Native American Tribes Have Mixed Feelings About It
The indigenous peoples who lived in this area for thousands of years have oral traditions about sacred sites, though they don’t specifically mention Mystery Hill. Some researchers think Native Americans might have built parts of it for ceremonies, but the construction style doesn’t match typical indigenous stonework in New England.
When Yale graduate Gary Vescelius excavated the site in the 1950s, he uncovered over 7,000 artifacts. Every piece was either Native American pottery and tools or 19th-century nails, brick fragments, and plaster chunks. Not one Irish religious item though.
It’s Become a Magnet for Every Ancient Civilization Theory Imaginable
Mystery Hill attracts researchers, amateur archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists like moths to a flame. People have proposed that it was built by everyone from lost Celtic tribes to Phoenician sailors to ancient Libyans.
The site has appeared in documentaries, books, and internet forums where people passionately debate whether pre-Columbian Europeans made it to New Hampshire thousands of years before Columbus.
It Was Vandalized by QAnon
In 2021, New Hampshire State Police arrested QAnon follower Mark Russo for vandalizing the “sacrificial table” with power tools, carving conspiracy slogans because he believed his son was murdered there by Hillary Clinton.
Visiting America’s Stonehenge
America’s Stonehenge is open daily 9am-5pm with last admission at 4pm, and admission runs $18 for adults, $16 for seniors 65+, and $10 for kids 4-12.
Located at 105 Haverhill Road in Salem, New Hampshire, it’s about 40 minutes north of Boston off I-93. The site isn’t wheelchair accessible due to rocky terrain, and they recommend backpack carriers over strollers for families with small kids.
Check their website for current pricing before visiting.
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