Petersen Rock Garden finds new life near Redmond

Published 5:45 am Saturday, July 19, 2025

One of the colossal sculptures at Petersen Rock Garden in Redmond. 07/16/25 (Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin)

Work continues to restore a piece of Oregon’s roadside history

Almost every morning at 5 a.m. Charles Bartlemay steps out of his front door and begins mowing the lawn at Petersen Rock Garden near Redmond. He weaves around the rock structures piled with colorful rock, meticulously constructed to resemble miniature buildings, bridges and even the Statue of Liberty. A family of resident peacocks chirp, waiting for him to toss a handful of seeds their way.

Groundskeeper, Charles Bartlemay, points out some of the specimens in the museum at Petersen Rock Garden in Redmond. 07/16/25 (Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin)

Yet, for Bartlemay, being the groundskeeper at Petersen Rock Garden is more than just a job. It’s a “labor of love.”

“I’ve been coming here since before I can remember,” Bartlemay said while displaying a color-drained photo of himself as a child with his mom and grandmother at Petersen Rock Garden. “To get to be here, caring for this place, it’s just the best job I’ve ever had.”

Petersen Rock Garden was founded by Danish immigrant Ramus Petersen. In 1905, Petersen purchased an 80-acre homestead near Redmond through the Desert Land Act, where he became a successful farmer cultivating hay and grain, raising livestock and growing potatoes, alfalfa and spearmint.

By 1935, Petersen began creating rock structures in his garden and started attracting visitors. As the farm became more popular among tourists, Petersen retired from farming to focus solely on the rock garden. At the time of his death in 1952, the garden was drawing nearly 120,000 annual visitors.

Falling into disrepair

After his death, Petersen’s wife and her family took over care of the garden. Yet, as the years continued, the care of the beloved garden significantly deteriorated.

“Initially, after Rasmus’ death, they did a really great job of taking care of the garden and keeping it running,” Bartlemay said. “Subsequent generations didn’t take care of it … I don’t know what kind of family grief they had going on, but they just didn’t have the capacity to care for a place like this.”

When the garden fell into disarray, many people were upset to see the once-thriving garden overrun with garbage, deteriorating rock and overgrown grass, Bartlemay said.

“A lot of folks were angry, and there was a lot of depression about just the way that it was going downhill, and it seemed like it was going to go away,” Bartlemay said. “This was our little Disneyland out here.”

A Peacock strolls the paths at Petersen Rock Garden in Redmond. 07/16/25 (Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin)

Petersen Rock Garden was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013, according to the Oregon Encyclopedia. It was closed to the public in 2016, but later reopened.

When the garden was listed for sale in 2022, current owner Marci Wayman was met with skepticism from the public, as many people were concerned about the garden being torn down by developers.

“When Marci bought it, there was a lot of skepticism,” Bartlemay said. “People wanted to know, ‘Who is this person?’ ‘What is their plan?’ But once people saw we were cleaning it up and just loving on the place, the response was fantastic.”

The clean-up process was no easy feat for Bartlemay and the rest of the crew at Petersen Rock Garden, and is partially still ongoing. Trees were growing into the monuments, causing them to deteriorate, trash was littered throughout the garden, abandoned vehicles were scattered throughout the property and paths were covered with overgrown grass and weeds.

“There was 119 years’ worth of stuff lying around when we first got here,” Bartlemay said. “We’ve taken out over 40 tons of trash.”

Looking forward

Now that the trash has been cleared, the cars removed and the monuments are being restored, Petersen Rock Garden is beginning to return to its glory days, as Bartlemay estimates that around 200 visitors have been visiting the garden each week.

The garden received $20,000 from Webfoot Home Improvements to paint to exterior of the museum on site and put in new flooring in the museum, including a special black light flooring to match the “black light room” inside the museum. Preserve Oregon also donated $18,000 to go toward a new roof being installed on the historic house on site.

The Black Light Room features natural geological elements at Petersen Rock Garden in Redmond. 07/16/25 (Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin)

Bartlemay also manages more than 20 volunteers a week who help with general maintenance, monument restoration, work in the museum and help care for the animals.

“People will ask if they can volunteer all day,” Bartlemay said. “The volunteers are such an integral part of what we are doing here.”

As Petersen Rock Garden continues to be restored, new additions are also being made. “The Wishing Shack” art installation by Mark Bernahl has been added to the garden, along with the garden’s first art show with fiber artist J. Lauren Popma opening August 3.

Wishes are written on pieces of wood and displayed in an installation by local artist, Mark Bernahl at Petersen Rock Garden in Redmond. 07/16/25 (Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin)

The future for Petersen Rock Garden is looking up as more potential projects are on the horizon, including creating a community garden, renovating the old diner on the property and using it as a community space for farm-to-table meals, hosting blacksmithing classes and having a farm on the property.

For now, Bartlemay, the staff and volunteers at Petersen Rock Garden are not just restoring a garden, but a piece of local history, as the rock monuments from over 100 years ago are still standing tall.

“We want people to know that we aren’t closed,” Bartlemay said. “This is a place of important local history and we really love the work that we are doing here.”

Petersen Rock Garden is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located at 7930 SW 77th St., Redmond. Contact: 541-904-0557.

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