In Minnesota, a former gas station is covered with rocks

By John Lauritsen

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    ACRO, Minnesota (WCCO) — In the little town of Arco, one place definitely stands out from the rest.

Small towns in rural America often get overlooked. As their population shrinks, their history can fade. But you could say Arco remains rock solid in western Minnesota.

“We’ll look out the window and there will be a car stopped out in the road and they’re taking pictures,” said Liz Herzog. “They are just, wow, I can’t believe somebody actually took the time to do this.”

That somebody was a man named HP Pedersen. He was a rock collector who opened a gas station in 1936. And if you were filling up with gas you couldn’t help but notice that the building was covered in pipestone, pink quartz, volcanic rock and possibly even a dinosaur egg or two.

Liz Herzog and her husband Dave Herzog have lived in the gas station-turned-house for the past 25 years. Dave Herzog believes it took Pedersen decades to piece all of this together. He gathered millions of rocks while on family vacations in other parts of the country and then made them part of his facade.

“He must have had a design in mind,” Dave Herzog said.

Pedersen didn’t stop with his house. He also built a Liberty Bell, and his son Vernon built a Statue of Liberty.

“I watched him build the Statue of Liberty. I watched him build the goat,” said Owen Blegen.

Blegen said at one point the Pedersens had all kinds of creations on their property. Over time, they were moved a stone’s throw away to Andersen Park. Relocating Lady Liberty was no easy task.

“It took an army to get that out the front door,” said Blegen.

The Herzogs’ patio now sits where the rock garden creations used to be. In the 40s and 50s, kids could see them while their parents filled up with gas.

“The gazebo was used here as an admittance. They sold tickets, 25 cents, to walk through the garden. It was quite impressive back there,” Blegen said.

The house is still impressive. Though a home like this should come with a “Falling Rock” warning. Dave Herzog says he hears rocks occasionally break off, especially in the winter.

It’s an unusual homeowner problem. Even so, the Herzogs wouldn’t change a thing.

“It’s not just a bunch of rocks put together. There are designs on this house. The more you look at it the more designs you see,” said Liz Herzog.

Some of the rocks weigh up to 70 pounds, and the Herzogs moved them closer to the ground for safety’s sake. The rock house is on the National Register of Historic Attractions.

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