FENTON, Mich. (Michigan Back Roads) – On a back road near Fenton is a remarkable and very unusual destination. The Tyrone Sunken Garden is unlike any other place in Michigan.

What’s unique about the Tyrone Sunken Garden?

There are no signs announcing its existence and very little background information. The garden consists of stones collected from across the country and laid out in a sort of diamond pattern. The entrance is a square stone archway leading to a stone path, a center stone, another arch, and more than fifty stone markers.

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The stones aren’t simply scattered throughout the space. Stone pathways divide the garden into eight segments. The outer boundary consists of small, squared stones, mostly granite, quarried from each of the states. Each stone is engraved with the state name and in many cases, the state flower is also engraved on the stone. In addition to the “state” stones, there are the entrance stones, the center stone and very distinctive accent stones at different points around the perimeter. Some of the stones were quarried over 200 years ago.

The garden is hidden from view, tucked away in a small valley behind the Tyrone Memory Garden Cemetery on White Lake Road near Fenton. Even when you drive through the cemetery, unless you know just where to look, the “Garden” will remain concealed to the casual observer.

Here is how to find it.

Upon arriving at the cemetery, make your way to the eastern end and look for a sculpture of a figure kneeling before three large standing stone slabs. Just beyond that figure is a simple tubular metal gate. The gate is usually locked so you must park and walk around it. Be prepared for possible long weeds and wet conditions. A broad pathway, that is mowed occasionally, leads downhill past an enormous willow tree to a small stream. The stream is often decorated with stone cairns. There is a small bridge and if you look to the right, you will see the eastern gate arch a short distance away.

The Eastern Gate is composed of reddish stones forming a square doorway into the garden, The lentil piece has the following inscription carved into the face:

Youth as you enter into the Eastern Gate and on nature’s beauty gaze, See these radiant smiles of sunlight on the western face of heaven down in the vale by the brook. Its running waters sparkle like pearls and opals fair. Fairer than the lily wet with the morning dew. Worth more than the Indies or the riches of Peru.

C.E.S – Quarried in Wisconsin

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Walk through the arch to enter the garden. It is laid out as a sort of squarish diamond about the size of a football field. The main path leads to a center stone that may have once supported a sundial but is now often decorated with objects left by visitors.

Beyond the center stone the path continues on to the Western Gate which has the following inscription:

Pilgrims as you enter this western gate smile, the beauties within are yours to enjoy just as freely as the Rose of Sharon and the sparkle of the dew drops in God’s bright sunshine. Smile today, for tomorrow we pass on like the fleeting clouds which are borne away by the gentle breezes that blow o’er this western gate which opens into a garden of rare beauty and fragrance. CES

There are several other stones with distinctive engravings. One is a “distance” stone that records the distance in miles from the Tyrone Garden to various locations around the world. Some examples are Cairo 6138, Paris 4100, Bombay 10069, Venice 4480 and a couple dozen others.

A bit of history.

The Tyrone Sunken Garden was created by Charles Eugene Smith around 1930. I haven’t found any information about how he acquired all these stones nor how he managed to transport them to Fenton. I haven’t been able to find his reason for choosing this location. Many of the stones have sayings carved into them. On one of the largest stones Smith carved the following:

“After having traveled around the world four different times and visited parts of Europe, Asia, North America, South America, North and South Africa, Australia and the islands of New Zealand, Tasmania, St. Helena, Canary, Fiji, Ceylon, Iceland, Hawaii, Philippine, Newfoundland, Faroe and many others and considering the famous rock gardens of Iceland and the sunken gardens of London, England, and Mexico City the most beautiful I contribute this memorial on my memory to this small garden.”

Tyrone Sunken Garden has stood for nearly 90 years and some of the stones date back to the 1700s. It is currently maintained by volunteers. The garden is on private property but when I visited it in 2024 it was open to the public. Please respect the owner’s property.

Directions to the Tyrone Sunken Garden.

White Lake Exit off U.S. 23 go west to Tyrone Garden Cemetery. It is less than a mile.