For nearly two-decades a Lexington County farm has been bringing creative fun for local residents with its corn maze.

Clinton Sease Farm, located at 382 Olde Farm Rd. in Lexington, has been around for generations but has switched the main focus of the operation from farming to fall fun. The farm offers a corn maze that spreads across eight acres, with this year’s theme being “Lake Murray: The Jewel of South Carolina.” The maze, which opened last week, will remain open through Nov. 5.

Lining up with that theme, the maze, when viewed from above, traces out shapes including the shoreline of the lake, a sailboat, a fisherman, the Lake Murray Dam’s iconic intake towers, and a design paying tribute to the World War II training operations on Bomb Island.

Brian Dalton, a member of the family that owns the farm, said the corn for the maze spans 10 acres, though only eight are used for the maze, adding that they plant the corn July 4 weekend. He said that a business from Virginia designs the layout based on the provided theme and cuts out the paths. 

Dalton told the Chronicle that they began using this company about 10 years ago, previously bringing in a group of around 30 workers who would make the maze by hand in an almost three-week process. The process now takes about six hours. 

The corn doesn’t go to waste, though, and once the maze is no longer operating for the season, it is turned into feed for the animals.

When guests aren’t attempting to navigate the main corn maze, there are a variety of other amenities to enjoy, including multiple slides, a rope maze, a hayride, a pumpkin patch, a variety of games to play, and a “Corn Snake” maze (wherein children enter through a snake’s mouth and navigate a tunnel constructed with hay).

The farm also welcomes food trucks for the first time this year, with Melt Grilled Cheese Co. and Jennifer’s Lunch Box feeding visitors.

Clinton Sease also has a pumpkin patch, which will remain in operation through Oct. 29.

During corn maze season, the farm regularly welcomes school field trips.

“[It’s] an accredited field trip because we have a curriculum,” Dalton said. “They learn about farming, they learn how to plant pumpkins, berries, and they get a ride around, see the animals, learn about animals, then they get to pick a pumpkin.”

The corn maze first came to fruition in 2004 when Clinton and Shirley Sease’s youngest daughter encouraged them to start one, according to the farm’s website. Dalton told the Chronicle that it was tough to make a living out of farming when you have 200 acres of vegetables and the neighbor has 2,000.

According to Dalton, the farm used to be a supplier for the supermarket chains Harris Teeter and Winn-Dixie, but ultimately made the switch to serving as an attraction for visitors, a more sustainable business for the family.

The family doesn’t only operate a corn maze but also Deceased Farms, a haunted attraction launched in 2010 that brings in thousands of people. The haunted house, the 2023 season of which continues through Oct. 31, operates alongside the maze for a portion of the year, but Dalton emphasized that they are a separate business.