‘A lovely mystery.’ Unsanctioned tractor appears, then disappears at Grand Mound roundabout
A weathered tractor and rake appeared in the middle of a Grand Mound roundabout in late October. The unsanctioned centerpiece quickly drew local admiration as well as a threat of removal from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
WSDOT posted a sign next to the tractor and rake indicating it would be removed by Oct. 30, despite a number of residents wanting to seek WSDOT’s approval to keep it there. But that morning, the sign and the tractor had disappeared without explanation, or WSDOT’s help.
“Now it’s become the mystery of the tractor,” said Diane Weaver, president of the Grand Mound-Rochester Chamber of Commerce. “It’s actually a matter of community pride now to want to see this project go forward. There’s a lot of people that are really engaged in wanting to see it happen now.”
The tractor appeared to be a vintage John Deere model from the 1940s, Weaver said. It was placed on top of a bed of rocks in the middle of the roundabout at State Route 12 and Sargent Road Southwest, just west of I-5 exit 88.
For many people, Weaver said, the tractor symbolized the area’s agricultural roots.
“The farming goes back to the beginning of settlers coming in,” Weaver said. “There’s big farming community pride in our area.”
Settlers colonized the area now known as Grand Mound in the 1850s, according to the book, “Thurston County – Water, Woods and Prairies.“ Leonard and Lucetta Durgin, who hailed from New Hampshire, filed a land claim in 1853 that included a 125-foot-high mound. They decided to name it Grand Mound.
Settlers used the prairie landscape as farmland. The resulting community has grown since then, but the locals have maintained and honored the area’s rural character to this day.
Though the Chamber did not know how the tractor got there, Weaver said the group was actively working with WSDOT to keep it there.
“We immediately went into discussion with WSDOT to talk about how we could move forward with permitting,” Weaver said. “(We) asked if it would be okay if it stayed as we work through the process and they were super gracious and extremely helpful.”
Weaver said WSDOT agreed to let the tractor remain the day it went missing. She thinks someone may have taken it upon themselves to save the tractor.
“We’re hoping it’s in safe keeping,” Weaver said. “We hope that someone didn’t just take it for their own benefit.”
If the tractor is in safe keeping, Weaver said the Chamber would like to see it returned once they get the proper paperwork in order. To that end, the Chamber posted an image of the missing tractor on Facebook in the style of a milk carton missing person notice.
Cara Mitchell, communications manager for the WSDOT Olympic Region, confirmed the tractor and rake were placed without the agency’s review. She said the agency does not know who placed the tractor there or who removed it.
“WSDOT has a process that entails the submittal of a public art plan,” Mitchell said. “It is our understanding that the Chamber of Commerce is willing to create the public art plan. To have art in the center of a roundabout, a public art plan, maintenance agreement and general permit is needed.”
Weaver said there had been some community discussion about adding public art at the now two-year-old roundabout but no official plans had gained traction until now. She believes whoever placed the tractor and rake there likely wanted to speed that process along.
“I don’t think anyone had intended to cause any harm,” Weaver said. “I would describe our community as a can-do community that just wants to see good things happen.”
Even with the tractor now missing, Weaver credits its appearance with breathing new life into this public arts project as well as bringing some levity to the community.
“It’s a lovely mystery,” Weaver said. “It’s bringing some real joy and fun to a project that probably would have gone relatively unnoticed until the pieces were in place. It’s added a lot of playfulness to the whole situation.”
Anyone with information about the tractor and rake can contact the Grand Mound-Rochester Chamber of Commerce at 360-791-7355.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
