Norwegian settler, Bernt Ronning, established his homestead in 1910 near the terminus of the old San Josef Wagon Road. This road was promised as access to the settlers further out at Cape Scott, but was never completed. Most settlers abandoned the area over the years, but Ronning continued making his life here into the early 1960's, working as a trapper, fisherman, and camp cook, while maintaining his prized garden.

During the earliest years, Bernt Ronning cleared over five acres of rainforest in order to plant the wilderness garden of his dreams. A garden created from seeds, cuttings of trees, and exotic plants he ordered from around the world. His house and garden became a regular way station for the settlers hiking from Cape Scott, Raft Cove, and San Josef Bay. As the years passed, the garden continued to grow in size and variety.

In the late 60's and into the 70's the garden nearly disappeared under the encroaching brush and alders. Many of the trees grew into unusual shapes as they struggled to find their way to the light. The daffodils stopped blooming under a thick canopy of dense salmon berry bushes. Most of the hundreds of flowers in the terraced beds were lost. Today, the Bernt Ronning garden has once again been freed from the invading rainforest.