Getting Corn-fused: Corn Mazes

How a 1990s invention became an autumn tradition

By Robert Matsumura, Active Media

As autumn settles across the country each year, with leaves turning orange and the air growing cool and crisp, thousands of Americans purposely venture into cornfields and get lost. Armed with maps, clues, flashlights — or occasionally nothing more than misplaced confidence — families and friends wander through towering rows of corn, searching for the elusive way out. While corn mazes might seem like an old-time rural tradition, the modern corn maze is actually younger than one might think.

From Ancient Labyrinths to American Cornfields

Mazes themselves stretch back into antiquity. Early labyrinths appeared in ancient cultures and continued on into the 17th century with elaborate hedge mazes that were fashionable among European aristocrats of the time. England's famous Hampton Court Maze, planted around 1700, remains one of the best-known surviving examples. However, until recent times, nobody seemed to have thought seriously about transforming an ordinary cornfield into a giant walk-through puzzle. 

The breakthrough came in 1993, when entertainment producer Don Frantz teamed with British maze designer Adrian Fisher to create what is generally credited as the first modern corn maze. At Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, the first corn maze covered more than three acres and contained nearly two miles of pathways. Far more than simply a collection of twists and turns, when viewed from above the maze formed a giant stegosaurus nicknamed "Cornelius the Cobasaurus." So unusual was this living puzzle that it earned recognition from Guinness World Records and drew national attention.

A new autumn tradition had been born.

Why Corn?

Corn turned out to be remarkably well suited to maze building. It grows quickly, becomes taller than most visitors, and can generate dense walls, making it difficult to see neighboring pathways. And unlike permanent hedge mazes, cornfields can also be redesigned every year.

Modern mazes have been shaped into animals, historical figures, sports logos, patriotic scenes and elaborate geometric patterns. Some contain several miles of pathways, complete with checkpoints, riddles, and hidden clues. As one might expect with the rise of technology, designs have become increasingly sophisticated. While early mazes could be laid out and cut largely by hand, today's operators often use computer-generated designs and GPS-guided equipment to transfer remarkably intricate images onto enormous fields.

More Than Getting Lost

 The popularity of corn mazes arrived at a propitious time for American farmers. As small farms searched for additional sources of income, agritourism — bringing paying visitors onto working farms for recreation and education — became increasingly valuable. A field that once produced only crops could now produce an experience.

It wasn’t long before corn mazes had become natural companions to pumpkin patches, hayrides, farm stands, petting zoos, and harvest festivals. Beyond simply buying pumpkins or apples, visitors could now spend an entire afternoon on the farm. This might explain why corn mazes feel much older than they really are. They combine something genuinely ancient — the human fascination with labyrinths — with the rhythms of traditional farm life, to create a distinctly modern form of entertainment.

Which is why each fall, millions of visitors discover the fundamental truth of the corn maze: getting lost is considerably more fun when you're doing it on purpose!