On a crisp fall day in Somerset, Virginia, you’ll find kids tumbling down Straw Mountain, families bumping along on hayrides, and couples clinking cider slushies. At the heart of it all is a corn maze — one of the largest in the United States — sprawling across more than 34 acres. This is Liberty Mills Farm, the creation of Kent and Evie Woods, who traded desk jobs for a midlife shift to farming.
A Leap of Faith
Evie grew up in Wisconsin and built a career in the nonprofit world, raising money for the performing arts before helping launch the Milwaukee Public Market. Kent, an Iowa farm boy with an engineering background, was working as a lobbyist when their life shifted.
“In 2007, we both had what you could call a midlife crisis,” Evie says. “We started looking at new opportunities and decided to take a leap of faith and create an agri-tourism farm. It was about combining our love of fall with a desire to create lasting memories for others.”
The search for land took three years, but in 2010, they found their dream: 110 acres in central Virginia with sweeping views, healthy soil, and one particularly flat field just perfect for a corn maze. “It felt right from the beginning,” Evie recalls. “We could see what it could become.”
From Produce to Pumpkins
The early years at Liberty Mills Farm looked very different than today. “For the first several years, we grew multiple varieties of vegetables and offered a Community Supported Agriculture subscription,” Evie says. Their daughter (around 11 then) even arranged bouquets to accompany each week’s pickup.
But while they sold at farmers’ markets and ran a CSA, the numbers didn’t add up. “It became clear that the amount of work compared to the profit was not sustainable,” Evie explains. “The choice was to either triple the CSA or focus more on our fall activities.”
The Magic of Fall
The corn maze began as a modest 20 acres. Bit by bit, fences came down, and the maze grew until it stretched across nearly 35 acres with more than 12 miles of trails. “We’re proud to be the largest in the country,” Evie says. “This year we were even named Top 3 Corn Mazes in the country by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.”
Of course, the maze is just the beginning. Hayrides rumble to a sprawling pumpkin patch where families can cut pumpkins straight from the vine — red, blue, pink, yellow, white, or classic orange. “Each year surprises our visitors with new varieties and colors,” Evie says.
Then there’s the food. Tractor-churned pumpkin ice cream is the runaway favorite, though the fresh-pressed cider gives it a run for its money. Add in pumpkin fudge, caramel apples, and caramel corn, and the farm market is as much a draw as the maze.
Kids burn energy in the playground, climbing the life-size wooden tractor, flying down the roller slide, and tackling a new low-ropes course. “Visitors are known for spending hours there,” Evie says. “They always find a new way to create an adventurous game.”
Designing the Maze
Every year, a new maze design adds fresh excitement. Some themes come easily, like the 2014 Fort McHenry maze celebrating the Star-Spangled Banner’s 200th anniversary. “Costumed re-enactors actually came to the farm, finished the maze, and sang the national anthem,” Evie recalls. “It ended with them shouting, ‘And the Home of the Maze!’ We loved it.”
Other years are more challenging. “Sometimes we’re planting the corn and still deciding on a theme,” Evie admits. Popular themes like American history or dinosaurs have drawn in new audiences, and the maze is designed with The Maize Company in Utah. “They connect all the paths, then come at the end of June to transfer the design into our growing cornfield,” she says.
Behind the Scenes
What looks like carefree fun to visitors is an exhausting balancing act for Kent and Evie. “Now that our children are grown, it’s just the two of us as the permanent staff,” Evie says. “That means we’re responsible for everything: accounting, hiring, training, payroll, farming, cleaning, marketing, social media, making fudge, answering the phone, inventory, ticketing, caramel corn, ice cream — you name it.”
As for misconceptions? “People think farming is low-stress and relaxing,” Evie tells us. “But you’re taking out loans each season to cover inputs like fertilizer and fuel. Paying it back depends on weather, crop prices, and in our case, whether visitors will come. It’s stressful, but we love it.”
Stories That Stick
The work is grueling, but the stories make it worthwhile. Evie recalls children collapsing theatrically at the maze exit — “I thought I’d never get out!” — after just 30 minutes. There are couples who met in the maze and became lifelong friends, and even one family who started as a random photo subject for Evie’s son in 2010 and has returned every year since.
Romance is a theme too: a high school homecoming proposal, first kisses that led to marriage, couples who return year after year with growing families. “One couple started coming when they were dating, then engaged, then married, then pregnant,” Evie says. “Now they come with their children. We can’t wait to see them each year.”
Music sometimes breaks out spontaneously, from UVA’s marching band to local a cappella groups. And then there are the small-world connections, like the college student from Evie’s hometown of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, who recognized a tractor tag. “Every day and every year is a new adventure full of surprises,” Evie says.
A Community Anchor
Liberty Mills Farm’s ripple effect extends far beyond its gates. “Agritourism benefits not only the farm but the local community,” Evie explains. Visitors book hotels, dine out, and shop locally. Over the past 15 years, the farm has welcomed guests from all 50 states and more than 70 countries, documented on a giant world map in the farm market.
Local schools bring field trips, companies book outings, and high school students get their first job experience at the farm. “We train them in soft skills like showing up on time and communicating, as well as hard skills like public speaking and crisis management,” Evie says. “In return, we provide scholarships and referrals. Watching them grow is one of our greatest joys.”
Evie herself serves as Treasurer of the Orange County Children’s Toy Box, which distributes Christmas gifts to families in need. “Being part of the community matters deeply to us,” she says.
Looking Ahead
For Kent and Evie Woods, farming is both an unpredictable challenge and a calling. “Our visitors continually impress us with their joy, gratitude, and enthusiasm,” Evie says. “It reminds us why we do this.
“Every day is a new adventure,” Evie says. “That’s what makes it all worthwhile.”
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