Justin Masterson
IMG_4386.JPG
A replication of The Hoover Dam in the "works of man" section at Hartman's Rock Garden.
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(Adapted from the description at RoadsideAmerica.com)
In 1932, in the heart of the Great Depression, Centerville native Ben Hartman began what would become a decade-long project: an impossibly large and complex sculpture garden made entirely of small stones, in his backyard.
Hartman's Rock Garden began small, as do many instances of Dementia Concretia -- Ben just wanted to build a little stone and concrete fish pond in his yard. He liked the finished product, and decided that he wasn't finished after all. He scavenged stone from a nearby construction site, broke it with his hammer, added bits of mirror and pottery -- and began building little stone houses, cathedrals, and parapets with religious statuary in the side and back yards of his wood-frame home. He kept building for seven years. He had the corner lot, so his work was easy to see.
Ben built a replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, a White House, a Mount Vernon (Ohioans can't get enough of mini-Mt. Vernons -- we saw another in Lima). A large castle with a drawbridge and moat is composed of 14,000 stones; a "Tree of Life" has over 20,000.
Ben stopped building in 1939. We suspect that he ran out of space, materials, maybe energy -- but certainly not ideas. He used something like a quarter of a million stones to create Hartman's Rock Garden.
Although Ben died in 1944, his property was maintained by his wife Mary for many years, and even won the Community Beautification Award four times in the 60's. The garden is now owned by Hartman's son, Ben Jr., and did not appear to be any longer upkept or maintained...pieces were falling apart, and weeds grew throughout (though this may just be a season growth).
Between the buildings (aside from the overgrowth) are little scenes -- a mix of history, religion, and Depression-era pop culture. Lawn statues of the Holy Family share space with garden gnomes. Small hand-written signs help visitors to distinguish one tableau from the next: Custer's Last Stand, Daniel in the Lion's Den, Noah's Ark, and "Foot path to Pece" (Peace).
"The sad part of war" is rendered with little army men, fallen or missing limbs, and accompanied by angels. Meanwhile, a healthier army prepares to storm the castle...
Ben built a depiction of the Oregon Trail, a Nativity scene, a cup and saucer. Scenes of boxer Joe Louis and the Dionne Quintuplets -- a media sensation of Canadian multiple births -- suggest what occupied the popular imagination in the 1930s.
Our favorite hand-lettered sign:
"Behold thy mother and don't forget your Dad."
IMG_4386.JPG
A replication of The Hoover Dam in the "works of man" section at Hartman's Rock Garden.
--
(Adapted from the description at RoadsideAmerica.com)
In 1932, in the heart of the Great Depression, Centerville native Ben Hartman began what would become a decade-long project: an impossibly large and complex sculpture garden made entirely of small stones, in his backyard.
Hartman's Rock Garden began small, as do many instances of Dementia Concretia -- Ben just wanted to build a little stone and concrete fish pond in his yard. He liked the finished product, and decided that he wasn't finished after all. He scavenged stone from a nearby construction site, broke it with his hammer, added bits of mirror and pottery -- and began building little stone houses, cathedrals, and parapets with religious statuary in the side and back yards of his wood-frame home. He kept building for seven years. He had the corner lot, so his work was easy to see.
Ben built a replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall, a White House, a Mount Vernon (Ohioans can't get enough of mini-Mt. Vernons -- we saw another in Lima). A large castle with a drawbridge and moat is composed of 14,000 stones; a "Tree of Life" has over 20,000.
Ben stopped building in 1939. We suspect that he ran out of space, materials, maybe energy -- but certainly not ideas. He used something like a quarter of a million stones to create Hartman's Rock Garden.
Although Ben died in 1944, his property was maintained by his wife Mary for many years, and even won the Community Beautification Award four times in the 60's. The garden is now owned by Hartman's son, Ben Jr., and did not appear to be any longer upkept or maintained...pieces were falling apart, and weeds grew throughout (though this may just be a season growth).
Between the buildings (aside from the overgrowth) are little scenes -- a mix of history, religion, and Depression-era pop culture. Lawn statues of the Holy Family share space with garden gnomes. Small hand-written signs help visitors to distinguish one tableau from the next: Custer's Last Stand, Daniel in the Lion's Den, Noah's Ark, and "Foot path to Pece" (Peace).
"The sad part of war" is rendered with little army men, fallen or missing limbs, and accompanied by angels. Meanwhile, a healthier army prepares to storm the castle...
Ben built a depiction of the Oregon Trail, a Nativity scene, a cup and saucer. Scenes of boxer Joe Louis and the Dionne Quintuplets -- a media sensation of Canadian multiple births -- suggest what occupied the popular imagination in the 1930s.
Our favorite hand-lettered sign:
"Behold thy mother and don't forget your Dad."