Carolina Corn Mazes: Rural Hill Farm

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The Amazing Maize Maze Challenges All Comers

Renee gets lost in a field of corn... and comes away "amaized"...

— by Renee Wright

There’s something slightly scary about a field of corn—an all-American sort of thrill that Steven King exploited in books like The Stand and Children of the Corn. Likewise, in the X-Files movie, Mulder and Scully spend a few tense moments lost in a cornfield. Seemingly, nothing could be more wholesome than a field of corn, but mysteries may hide within.

This fall, Charlotte once again participates in the latest corn-based craze around the country as the The Amazing Maize Maze returns to Rural Hill Farm in Huntersville. The tongue-twisting name, by the way, is trademarked. And the phenomena it describes are so far-out, so beyond the outer limits of normal Charlotte reality, that you’re really have to drive out to Rural Hill yourself and have a look.

I did, and I’ve got to admit—I was amazed... Or is that "amaized"?

The whole story is bizarre.

First, there’s the Disney Connection. Don Frantz, the mind behind this madness, started out as a Disney Imagineer, associate producer of Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast, in fact. Inspired by Field of Dreams (another film where corn plays a starring role), and an admiration for English mazes, he began to create his own mazes in corn fields back in 1993.

That first maze was in the shape of a dinosaur, and proceeds benefited Pennsylvania flood victims. Frantz franchised the idea (dubbed "agritainment") and corn mazes sprouted up on working farms and non-profit parks around the country.

But don’t think of this as a simple stroll through the corn. While Elizabethan England and Lewis Carroll may come to mind when you think of a maze, a lot of other people are thinking, "video games." (Consider, for instance, Pac Man.)

Imagineer Frantz is apparently of the latter school, and the Maize Maze is laced with interactive gaming features.

A "Maze Master" watches over the corn from a tower, giving cryptic clues from the Farmer’s Almanac (official sponsor of the Maize Mazes).

This summer, besides the maze in Charlotte, "playgrounds of the mind" lure visitors to fields from Iowa to New York, and right across the ocean to Cheshire England.

Where IS Rural Hill?

By now you’re wondering where the heck Rural Hill is, and I did too. In fact, it's a Mecklenburg County Park, occupying a peninsula on the shores of Mountain Island Lake.

Formerly it was the plantation of Major John Davidson, signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the man who lent his name to Davidson College.

Today, Rural Hill serves as the home of the Catawba Valley Scottish Society. Every year, a variety of Scottish events are held at Rural Hill, including the Loch Norman Highland Games in April, a New Years Day First Footin', and Sheep Dog Trials in November.

Visit the Rural Hill website for more information on all these events.

Finding Rural Hill is not that difficult. My friend, Laurie, at Park & Rec gave me some excellent directions, which I pass on to you.You may want to avoid I-77 entirely this year, because of the construction, and just take Beatties Ford Rd. all the way.

From Charlotte, take I-77N to exit 16B (Sunset Rd.) Take Sunset west to Beatties Ford Rd., and take a right at the light. Stay on Beatties Ford for about 7 miles. You’ll pass Hornet’s Nest Park and Latta Plantation Park (both worth a visit themselves). Take a left on Neck Rd. There’s a stone pillar at the fork pointing to "Major John Davidson’s Homestead." After 1.5 miles on Neck, you’ll pass the McDowell Water Treatment Plant. Rural Hill is the next right.

More Info?

The Amazing Maize Maze is open from late August to mid- October, Thursday through Sunday, plus Labor Day Monday. Admission is free for kids 4 and under. Water is provided throughout the Maze and refreshments are available. Wear sturdy shoes.

You can try several smaller mazes for free, if you just want to drop by to check things out, and meet Scottie, the Highland bull who is the mascot of Rural Hill.

For more information on the Maze or the Catawba Valley Scottish Society, call 704 875-3113 or visit www.RuralHillFarm.org.

2004's maze at Rural Hill commemorated the Revolutionary War Battle of Cowan's Ford with a maze dubbed "Cannons on the Catawba." Above is a map of the maze.

More Corny Creations:

The maze at Rural Hill was created by the "original" corn maize company. See all its mazes at www.americanmaze.com.

However, this is just one of many companies creating corny fun across the country this fall.

Many mazes feature special "spooky" nightime mazes around Halloween.

Visit the links below to find a maze near you. It's a great way to spend an autumn day - or night - celebrating the harvest season.

The Maize claims to be the world's largest cornfield maze company with more than 150 mazes in 5 countries.

MazePlay, builders of the world's largest maze, have 4 mazes in North Carolina.

Adrian Fisher designs many top maize mazes in Great Britain and Europe. Closer to home, Fisher mazes are located in Chattanooga, TN, and Cleveland, GA.. The new Blackbeard's Revenge Haunted Corn Maze at Boone Hall Farms outside of Charleston is also one of his. Fisher also sponsors a site Maze-World.com that lists mazes of every variety around the world.

Maize Quest also builds mazes around the country and has a maze theme park in Pennsylvannia.