From Family Farm to Fall Tradition: The Heartwarming Story of Jumbo’s Pumpkin Patch 🍂
How the Huffer Farm Became Jumbo’s Pumpkin Patch: A Fall Love Story 🍂
Some of my favorite memories are rooted in farms: dirt under my nails, crisp air in my lungs, the smell of hay and pumpkins. So when I first discovered the story behind Huffer Family Farm, I felt like I’d found a kindred spirit. Let me tell you the tale of how this historic homestead transformed into the beloved Jumbo’s Pumpkin Patch — and why it feels like magic every time those gates open in autumn.
1. Roots that run deep
The Huffer family farm sits in the scenic Middletown Valley of Maryland. It’s more than the rolling fields or the picturesque views - it’s a heritage. For over 150 years, the Huffers have maintained life on this land, passing it through seven generations. That’s not just longevity - that’s love, persistence, and commitment.
There’s something deeply grounding in that kind of legacy. When you walk the fields, you’re stepping on soil that your ancestors tilled, seeded, and nurtured. That sense of continuity gives Jumbo’s a soul you feel, even if you’re just visiting for the day.
2. Humble beginnings
Jumbo’s didn’t appear all at once. In fact, in 1994, it began very modestly - a simple roadside wagon and 1.5 acres of pumpkins. Can you imagine? That was it. No sprawling maze, no petting zoo, just pumpkins and a dream.
What makes that start so special is the vision behind it. The Huffers didn’t need glamorous beginnings. They just needed heart and a desire to share their farm with people - to let folks taste fall in its purest form.
3. Growing pumpkin paradise
From those small beginnings, Jumbo’s expanded steadily but intentionally. Today, we’re talking acres and acres of pick-your-own pumpkins, a 15-acre corn maze, pony rides, a petting zoo, hayrides, and a cozy General Store.
Every new addition feels like it came from listening - watching what visitors love, imagining what kids would gasp at, and building it slowly so the farm always felt warm, not commercial.
Because here’s the truth: when you’re walking down a pumpkin row, hearing children’s laughter in the maze, or watching the sun dip behind a hay bale, you’re not just seeing attractions. You’re entering a place built by a family that loves the season as much as you do.
4. Community, tradition, and memories
What truly makes Jumbo’s special is how it becomes your fall tradition. Maybe you first came on a school field trip. Maybe you stumbled in by passing the road. Maybe you visited with family when your kids were small, and now you bring grandchildren.
The Huffers envisioned more than a farm - they envisioned a place where people make memories: where laughter echoes in the cornstalks, where faces get painted orange, where that one perfect pumpkin is discovered, and where every camera roll is full of candid magic.
Over the years, Jumbo’s has earned nods and awards - even being named one of the top 10 pumpkin patches in the United States more than once. But for the family, the greatest honor is seeing how many lives the farm touches, how many traditions are born there, how many fall hearts are rooted deeper because of one farm in the Middletown Valley.
5. Why I love this place (and you will too)
For me, visiting Jumbo’s feels like coming home to fall. It’s the crispness in the air, the crunch underfoot, the panoramic fields drenched in gold. It’s the way the farm feels alive - not staged. It’s the stories that echo in every barn, every fence, every path through the maze.
If you’ve never walked their fields, I hope you come. Bring your camera, bring your kids (or your inner kid), bring your sense of wonder. If you’ve been before, bring someone new. And if you have a Huffer or Jumbo’s memory tucked away - that field trip, that perfect pumpkin, that chase through the corn - leave it in the comments or your next Instagram post. I promise, these are the stories the land loves to hear.
Come experience their slice of autumn magic on Holter Road in Middletown, MD. Let the Huffer family’s legacy become part of your fall story. 🍁
visit jumbos.org to plan your trip to the pumpkin patch.