Sanbornton farm's corn maze is tribute to New Hampshire quarter

SANBORNTON — For several years, Heritage Farm on Hunkins Pond Road has been among the several local farms that create mazes in their corn fields as a way to encourage the public to interact with local practitioners of agriculture. This year, the farm's corn maze is designed as an homage to the New Hampshire state quarter.

Featuring the profile of the Old Man on the Mountain, the state motto "Live Free or Die" and "1788", the year that New Hampshire became a state, the design serves as a way for brothers and farm employees Brian and Dennis Etchells to pay tribute to their new state, as they have recently relocated from Rhode Island.

Brian Etchells has worked at Heritage Farm for almost five years and brought the idea for a themed corn maze from his experience on farms in Rhode Island. "Your average corn maze gets boring," Etchells said.

The maze they designed criss-crosses a 5-acre field planted with what Etchells called "cow corn," grown as feed for the Swain family's dairy farm, located just up the hill from Heritage Farm.

The corn grows thick and a dozen feet high in places, shorter in others. The paths were cut using a 54-inch wide mower, though leaves of the plant encroach on the maze-goers path. Feeling engulfed in the corn is all part of the experience, they say. The design features several paths to successfully find the exit – and many dead-ends and ways to travel in circles. A lucky person might be able to solve the maze in a half-hour, though some will need twice as much time.

Although the farm will raise some revenue through admission to the maze, Etchells said the project is also about offering another opportunity for the farm to connect and interact with residents of the region, beyond simply selling agricultural products. He asked, "How many city folks get a chance to run through planted corn?"

"It's like a life-size puzzle ,"said Samantha Newman, manager at the farm. "When you're right in it, it totally disrupts your sense of perspective."

The maze is open daily, though the farm is hoping to highlight the amenity in a couple of upcoming events. On September 30 and October 1, the farm will open the maze from 7 to 9 p.m. for those who would like to try to solve the maze under the light of a full moon. If that's not enough of a thrill, the maze will be haunted during the "Heritage Farm Fright Nights," held on Friday and Saturday nights during the last half of October. This year, half of the proceeds from the Fright Nights will be donated to a relative who is fighting cancer.

Those special events, in addition to the farm's pancake house and petting farm, are examples of agro-tourism, a hybrid industry that seeks to re-connect Americans, many of whom are a generation or two from a family farm, to the traditions and practices that provide the food that fill grocery store shelves.

"This isn't just a farm," said Newman. "You can come and learn about the different types of animals, go through the corn maze, take maple tours, you can take a tractor ride to see the cows... Young people these days don't know where milk comes from, how life used to be."

Newman continued, "It's only three miles from the Winnisquam Bridge, but it seems so much farther – you're getting away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy a day on the farm.

CAPTION for CORN MAZE ENTRANCE in AA:

Left to right, Heritage Farm personnel Samantha Newman, Fern the dog, Brian Etchells, Tulip the donkey, Laura-May Swain, David Nathanial Swain, Rachel Swain and Matt Swain. The group is shown near the entrance to the farm's corn maze, which this year is designed as a tribute to the New Hampshire state quarter. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)

CAPTION for CORN MAZE PATH in AA:

Farm dog Fern leads the way while Laura-May Swain and Samantha Newman follow. The trio was winding its way through the corn maze at Heritage Farm in Sanbornton. The maze this year is designed using elements from the New Hampshire state quarter. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)