Leland Peterson was a Swedish immigrant. He farmed this land in the 1920s. And then, one day, he just started stacking rocks.
He didn’t stop for thirty years. He worked on it every single day, rain or shine, until 1952. The man was a rock hoarder with a glue gun (well, cement).
His wife, Ruth, must have been a saint. Imagine coming home to find your husband has built a dinosaur out of pebbles in the front yard.
What’s Actually There?
First: castles. Small, craggy castles that look like they belong in a fairy tale. You can walk right up and touch them.
Then: a giant replica of the Crater Lake map. It’s made entirely of stones. You’ll feel like a giant looking down at a tiny, precious world.
My favorite part? The dinosaur. Yes, a rock dinosaur. It’s not scientifically accurate, but it’s gloriously lumpy and honest.
There are also miniature buildings, bridges, and a little “Peterson Village.” It’s like a tiny civilization frozen in time.
