I enjoy talking with long-time residents who remember when St. Charles hospital was “way outside of town,” and I try to imagine the community’s edge in the single-digit street numbers on the eastside.

One of my favorite places to explore and step back in time is Hollinshead Park, where there is a great holiday event coming up.

From ranch to park

Hollinshead Park is a former working ranch donated by Dean and Lily Hollinshead to Bend Park and Recreation District in 1984. Located at 1230 NE Jones Road in Northeast Bend, the park retains its connection to the region’s agricultural and ranching history with the original sharecropper house that is now a museum, renovated 1913 barn that serves as a popular event facility, several original outbuildings, community gardens, irrigation canal, mature trees and open spaces.

Owned for 50 years by Dean and Lily Hollinshead, this farm was most successful under the management of Jim and Virginia Matson, before the property was transformed into the neighborhood and park.

The Hollinshead-Matson Historic House and the accompanying tack shed/bunkhouse are located in Hollinshead Park. The house has been maintained for three decades by Sharron Rosengarth, one of the five Matson children, her late-husband Tony Rosengarth, and the park district. The Rosengarths and the park district restored the house to its original size and interiors, restored original wagons and buggies and created displays.

The house is an immersive way to see what life in the 1940s was for a sharecropping family in Bend. Children are bright-eyed at stories about no running water, accidents when a 9-year-old is in charge of making dinner and the outdoor bathroom facility. Sharron also talks about pulling taffy as a holiday tradition.

Tony Rosengarth passed away in 2019 and Sharron continues to host tours for families and school groups throughout the year and holds an open house at the holidays, sharing personal oral histories possible only from a family member who was born and raised in the house. This weekend, she is hosting an annual tradition open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Attendees can enjoy a free tour and homemade holiday treats. I highly recommend it for long-time residents and newcomers of all ages.

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The house and tack shed/bunkhouse offer an important look back to the region’s agricultural past when people made do with what they had, maintained their equipment, took care of their livestock and made a living off the land.

Preserving history

While parks and recreation are topics Bend Park & Recreation District knows well, preserving history is another organization’s expertise. In August 2019, through a partnership with the Deschutes County Historical Society, a full inventory and collections assessment of the house and tack shed was completed by a Portland State University graduate student. This assessment provided a road map for the management of the collection and exhibits care needed. It also showed us what a cool opportunity it could be to share history stories in one of our most loved and frequently visited parks.

An Oregon Heritage Grant awarded in 2019 and again in 2023 provided the resources for long-term collections management assistance and care, interpretation and exhibit management for the homestead house first and the tack shed/bunkhouse as a follow-up project underway now.

The house has interpretive signage and photographs to inform visitors about indigenous presence before westward expansion in the late 1800s/early 1900s, rural life, irrigation and agriculture in Central Oregon, including in the Orchard District where Hollinshead Park is located, etc.

The house is open for tours by appointment and for the annual open house. A park improvement project is also underway now to add an exterior interpretive walk that will provide even more storytelling about the Hollinshead family.

Learn more about the history of Hollinshead Park and other parks at bendparksandrec.org.