Once upon a time—1955 to be exact—the Harrison family opened the gates to the Enchanted Forest, Maryland’s first fairy tale theme park. For decades, kids poured through the castle entrance off Route 40 to climb Jack’s Beanstalk, squeeze into the Old Woman’s Shoe, and wave at Humpty Dumpty perched on his wall. At its peak, more than 300,000 visitors a year came to live inside the storybooks. Tickets? Just a dollar for adults, fifty cents for kids. But by the mid-90s, thrill rides and modern parks outshined the gentle charm of nursery rhymes, and the Enchanted Forest closed. For years, beloved characters sat abandoned and fading. Then came a fairy godmother—Martha Clark of Clark’s Elioak Farm. Beginning in 2003, she painstakingly rescued more than 100 pieces, from Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage to Willie the Whale, giving them new life just five minutes from their original home. This summer, the park turned 70, and families gathered once again to celebrate. For some, it was pure nostalgia; for others, like younger generations seeing Little Toot for the first time, it was fresh magic. The Enchanted Forest may have closed, but thanks to Clark’s Elioak Farm, its spell still lingers.
