Savage in Bend

If you’ve driven down Division Street in Bend and found your eyes drawn to the unique stone-clad building that seems to shimmer with embedded treasures, you’re not alone.

Local resident Marc S. recently asked, “There’s a cool building on Division Street that stands out with all sorts of rocks on it. Can you give some insight into the history of it?”

He is referring to the building that houses the Herb Center at 2205 NE Division Street. I have often been curious myself and always wanted to stop to get a closer look. Thanks for the excuse, Marc!

This unique structure existed long before cannabis legalization. The story begins with Lloyd Forbes, born in 1886 in Pennsylvania. Forbes became a homesteader and cattle rancher in the now-abandoned town of Stauffer, out near Eastern Oregon’s Glass Buttes. He and roughly 40 other families once called this remote settlement home.

Forbes was an avid rockhound. His love for collecting rocks and gems began while on a trip in his Model T Ford from his home state of Pennsylvania to Arizona. Near the area of what is now Petrified Forest National Park, he picked up not only his first piece of petrified wood but also found a new passion.

By the time he came to Oregon, Forbes was making obsidian arrowheads, bringing home geodes, agates, thundereggs, and whatever else caught his eye. He frequented the Ochocos and areas around Brothers, Paulina, and Post; prime locations for rockhounds back then. In fact, Klondike Kate, the local Bend legend, once lived in Brothers. The two large pieces of petrified wood she supposedly found near her property there now rest in Drake Park.

Back to Forbes. In the 1930s he, his wife Bertha, and their three children left the homesteading life and moved to Bend. They purchased a 5-acre parcel of land with a small two room house. His first endeavor on the property was a hotel business which didn’t last long because his overnight guests would steal the towels!

His next venture fit his rock collecting hobby. Lloyd contrived a lapidary machine by using the differential from his Model T Ford. With this piece of machinery, he could polish and cut rocks as large as a 300 pound geode! This innovation sparked the idea for the Museum of Wonders.

Located along what was then Highway 97, the museum was crafted from concrete blocks. The finished exterior was a glittering array of rocks and gems from many years of collecting – black and red obsidian, jasper, cinnabar, chalcedony, opal, and thundereggs. The original roof stood out with the design of a star, a crescent moon, and an arrowhead made out of rocks arranged into the tar coated roof.

Forbes also built miniature monuments and a water wheel. A favorite construction was a miniature Yellowstone Park complete with geysers that would periodically spout water. Bertha added her own artistic touch with flowerbeds and rock gardens laced with semi-precious stones.

Over the years, the museum became a popular tourist attraction. School children took field trips to see the teepee, try their hand at archery with hay bale targets, and marvel at the glittering walls. Forbes never charged admission but kept a donation basket at the door.

In addition to selling rocks from his collection, he crafted juniper wood novelties like salt and pepper shakers and created ceremonial-sized arrowheads from obsidian inspired by Native Americans. His imagination seemed as vast as his rock collection!

For those familiar with Erasmus Peterson and his Redmond rock garden, this story sounds eerily similar, right? Word has it the two of them were good friends. Makes sense, because they shared a common interest. I like to believe they had a friendly competition going or at least discussed what the other had recently built.

When Lloyd passed away in 1956, Bertha, who lived to the impressive age of 103, operated the museum until selling the building. The majority of the rock collection was sold to a gem dealer in Terrebonne.

Since then, the building has seen many businesses: an engine repair shop, a cafe, a framing store, the Stone Cottage. Today, it houses the Herb Center, a dispensary that keeps a slice of Bend’s past alive. Over time many of the original rocks have been removed, but the arch and some stone walls remain. Inside, curious visitors can still find an article with a short history of the site.

Next time you pass by that “cool building” on Division, look closer. You’re glimpsing the imagination of a rockhound and the legacy of an original Bend landmark.

– Questions for Savage? Email savageglobetrotters@gmail.com

This article appears in Source Weekly May 29, 2025.