How Much Do You Know About Kalamazoo’s Mysterious Stonehenge?

Just when I think I've learned all there is to learn about Kalamazoo-- I learn something new. Like the fact that there's a hidden Stonehenge monument located just outside of downtown.

I knew about the dinosaur park on Western's campus, but this Stonehenge replica was certainly news to me! How much do you know about it?

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I was scrolling through one of my favorite local Facebook pages, Vanished Kalamazoo, when I saw fellow member Holley Zantjer had posted some photos inquiring,

We came across these on our walk today, I've never even seen these before there, pretty cool. Does anyone know who did these?

The unique sculptures definitely caught my eye as they don't look like the typical images we see from the original Stonehenge in England. In fact, these are very detailed pillars with each making reference to other famous Kalamazoo landmarks.

Just like Holley I'm curious to know, who did these?

The Circular Ruin

It turns out that while Holley and her son Jose Doniaz were out on their walk in Mayor’s Riverfront Park they actually stumbled across a piece of art!

According to WMUK artist Mitchell Wilcox was commissioned to build a sculpture park in the 1990s. It's been over 20 years since the artwork was set in place and Mitchell's details surrounding its origins are a little fuzzy.

Wilcox told WMUK he believed funding for the project came from K College but the school found no record of its commission, which adds to the mystery!

What Does it Mean?

According to Wilcox each pillar is meant to represent a different era of Kalamazoo and locals donated items they wanted to see in each pillar's surface. Wilcox says you'll find everything,

From bones and plant life that I collected from here, to Pokagon artifacts to celery and the 18, 1900s and then we go to Bell’s and more modern stuff

To get to Kalamazoo Stonehenge start at Mayor's Riverfront Park and walk southeast on the bike path, past Homer Stryker Field. If you want to see another famous Stonehenge replica in Michigan-- head to Nunica!