Nebraska's Bizarre Tribute To Stonehenge Is A Quirky, To-Scale Roadside Replica

Perhaps the greatest evidence of the powerful impression Stonehenge has made is found 4,440 miles away in Alliance, Nebraska. There, amid acres upon acres of cornfields at the west end of the sandy windswept Nebraska road considered one of the most beautiful in America, sits a full-scale replica of the prehistoric monoliths. However, it is not made with sarsen stones but 38 automobiles. To enhance the mimicry, all are stuck into the ground in the same dimensions as Stonehenge and painted gray. Indeed, from a distance, it might seem that you've stepped through an "Outlander" vortex and emerged on Salisbury Plain. Although, you might actually prefer the Nebraska version, as Stonehenge often features among the most disappointing tourist attractions in the world.

The short answer to why Carhenge even exists is "why not?" as its creator, Jim Reinders, once replied. The long answer travels back to England, where Reinders lived and worked from 1976 to 1981. Some years later, in 1987, he decided to build Carhenge on his father's farmland as a memorial to him. As few suitable stones were available in the area, Reinders used cars instead. As he told the Alliance Times-Herald, "Cars are more available in this area, and they are shaped similar to the stones in England." It took about a year and $10,000 to build the structure. Surprisingly, the response went global, drawing 100,000 visitors a year and a plethora of film and television production crews, as well as top rankings on lists of the most unique roadside stops across America.

The 38 cars that form the henge cover four decades of manufacturing history in the United States. The oldest is a 1950 DeSoto, and the newest is a 1986 Ford. In between are automobiles like the 1965 Ford Fairlane 500, the 1967 Cadillac DeVille Ambulance, the 1972 Chevy Impala, and the 1975 AMC Gremlin. Several were brought by family members, but the rest came from a local collector of junked cars at about $100 a pop. At the core, 16 are partially buried, and six more are welded atop as the crossbars. Over time, Carhenge has been joined by other metallic flights of fancy, including a metal dinosaur skeleton and spawning salmon. There's also a gift shop that's open seasonally.

As popular as Carhenge has become, it didn't start out that way. Complaints followed the initial construction, along with one visit by a police deputy. In fact, a neighbor who built a house across the street set the angle so that Carhenge was entirely shut out from view. Time softened perceptions, though, and when Reinders eventually moved out of state, a local group preserved Carhenge. When that became too much, the city took over. The celebrity status was confirmed in 2017 when Nebraska governor Pete Ricketts traveled to Carhenge to view the eclipse. He was joined by then-89-year-old Reinders, who returned for the same reason. "I'd like to say it was all part of the greater plan," he told the Washington Post, "but I'd be lying through my teeth."