A brand-new pumpkin patch destination near Oxford offers families an outdoor escape to explore this month.
Written by Eugene Stockstill | Photographed by Joe Worthem
At Chadwick Farms, you won’t get to see the Great Pumpkin, a brokenhearted Linus, an enraged Sally, or Snoopy, the flying ace. But you will witness a Lafayette County man’s dream come true.
Located at 113 CR 215 just outside the Oxford city limits, Chadwick Farms is a full-service pumpkin patch, which means you have a bunch more to do than ride out to pick a pumpkin to carry home with you. It’s a destination you can take family and friends for a day in the great outdoors on a blue-sky, crisp autumn afternoon.
Hudson Chadwick, owner of the farm, opened the pumpkin patch earlier this month. Admission is $18 per person; children under age 3 are free. Food and beverages are extra. Chadwick Farms is open Friday afternoons and evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.
“We’ll be open until dark,” Chadwick said. “You could make an afternoon of it.” He imagines a school bus full of children coming after school lets out on a Friday.
At Chadwick Farms, you can:
Ride one of four wagons to the pumpkin patch, one of which is wheelchair-accessible.
Hear family-friendly music playing in the background.
Spend time at a big old red barn and a petting zoo with a pig, goats and chickens (and possibly some guest appearances by exotic animals).
Take a hayride to the pumpkin patch even if you have allergies, since all the wagons have benches, not actual hay.
Find some much-needed shade under one of several large pavilions.
Turn the kids loose on a huge playground with giant tube slides and tree houses with rope bridges.
Get lost in the corn maze or take a walk on the path near the pond.
And, coming soon, enjoy a coffee bar, expected to open later this month.
“My 7-year-old is super excited,” said Chadwick, an electrical contractor who also owns the restaurant Rafters on the Water in Sardis, during an interview in late August.
Evey (she’s the 7-year-old) is the ultimate inspiration for Chadwick Farms.
A native of Jackson, Chadwick grew up connected to Oxford and Ole Miss.
His uncle, Billy Chadwick, who played tennis with his father, Barney Chadwick, at Belhaven College, became the tennis coach at the university and helped forge a lifetime of Lafayette County connections for Hudson.
Not long ago, daughter Evey had such a wonderful experience at a pumpkin patch, that her father, who knew he wanted to spend more time with his family, experienced an epiphany.
“Ooo, I want to do this,” he said.
When a 95-acre farm right by their house went up for sale, he bought it. Walking around the farmland one day, he had a second light bulb moment.
“Here’s the pumpkin patch,” he said, gazing around him. “We’re here.”
Construction began last year, with carpentry, dirt and plumbing work going to subcontractors. (Chadwick, of course, did all the electrical work).
The pumpkin patch is the first to be this close to Oxford. The next closest is at least a 45-minute drive away. “That’s your whole day,” Chadwick said.
No more. And in case you think Chadwick Farms will close once fall turns to winter, think again.
“We’ve got big Christmas plans,” Chadwick said. “We’ll have spring flowers.”
What, we wondered out loud with Chadwick, is the single best part about this big idea of his that finally has become reality? The rolling hills, the pastures, the pure scenic beauty of the place, that’s what.
“The fact that we’re going to get to share it. That is the most exciting part,” he said. “It’s gorgeous.”
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