SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Harry George Hartman’s former backyard is a true masterpiece. In 1932, Hartman transformed the space into a rock garden that now draws visitors from around the world.
Kevin Rose, curator at the Hartman Rock Garden, said Hartman lost his job as a factory molder during the Great Depression.
“He got to work in his backyard. Never a grand vision for anything. He started out with a little fishing pond or what he called a fishing pond and then a church and then a schoolhouse,” Rose said. “Before you knew it, within a couple of years, he had hundreds of objects.”
In an essence, the rock garden is a time capsule inspired by popular culture of the 1930s. It’s free and open to the public.
