History of Stonehenge II

History of Stonehenge II. . , In 1989, Kerr County native Doug Hill finished work on the back patio on his Hunt, Texas property and was left with one extra limestone slab. As a joke, he offered it to his good friend and neighbor, Al Sheppard, who then accepted it and stood the slab upright in the middle of his pasture. Sheppard and Hill liked the look of the monolith and built an arch around it. The 13 foot arch reminded them of Stonehenge in England. Soon a vision formed and Sheppard contracted Hill to build their very own Stonehenge II., The original Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England was erected around 2500 B.C. and is believed to have functional as an important site for religious or astrological ceremonies. , Sheppard and Hill's project took about 9 months to complete. Hill fabricated the stones from steel, metal lathe, and plaster and anchored each with cement. Stonehenge II is 90% as wide and 60% as tall as the original. Later, after visiting Easter Island off the coast of Chile, Sheppard was inspired to add two 13- foot tall Moai head statues to the collection., Al Sheppard passed away in 1994 and his property stayed within the family. In 2010, the Sheppard Family donated Stonehenge II and the Moai to the HCAF in memory of Al, a long-time supporter of the organization. After funds were raised, the structures were moved to their current home on this campus in 2012., Captions , Doug Hill (left) and Al Sheppard (right) stand with their original stone, Stonehenge II being installed in its new home at the Hill Country Arts Foundation