Vote for Your Favorite Scarecrow at Historic Smithville Park
The annual Burlington County Scarecrow Contest is back at Historic Smithville Park, and locals now have until Saturday, October 25 to cast their votes for their favorite creations. There are nineteen scarecrows on display along Park and…
The annual Burlington County Scarecrow Contest is back at Historic Smithville Park, and locals now have until Saturday, October 25 to cast their votes for their favorite creations.
There are nineteen scarecrows on display along Park and Maple Avenues, showcasing creative designs inspired by everything from The Three Little Pigs and The Wicked Witch of the West to Charlie Brown and The Terminator.
This year, a new category celebrates America’s 250th anniversary, with an additional cash prize for the top patriotic-themed entry. In total, cash prizes will be given to the top three scarecrows plus the America 250th category winner.
Voting is open both on-site and online through the Burlington County website here.
Visitors at the park can also cast their votes using the free “Burlco” Wi-Fi network or by scanning convenient QR codes displayed on signs next to each scarecrow.
The winners will be announced during the Burlington County Autumn Lands Festival at Smithville Park on October 25, 2025.
Origins of the Scarecrow
Scarecrows have watched over crops for thousands of years, with their origins stretching back to ancient civilizations. According to Thanksgiving Point, the first scarecrows were used by ancient Egyptian farmers along the Nile River, who set up wooden frames covered with nets to trap quail that fed on their wheat crops — effectively protecting their harvest while catching dinner at the same time.
Historians at the University of Maryland Extension report that the concept spread to ancient Greece and Rome, where farmers carved statues of Priapus, the fertility god, whose image was believed to bless the fields and frighten birds away. From there, Roman influence introduced scarecrow traditions across Europe, inspiring each region to adapt its own twist.
Meanwhile in Japan, Fairfax County Master Gardeners note that farmers created kakashi, human-shaped guardians dressed in straw hats and raincoats, associated with the Shinto deity Kuebiko, the all-knowing scarecrow god.
By the Middle Ages, British farmers replaced child laborers with straw-stuffed figures during the Black Plague, according to the University of Maryland Extension. Later, European settlers brought these human-like protectors to the Americas, where Native Americans had already used similar wooden sentinels to ward off birds.
Today, as Thanksgiving Point writes, scarecrows have evolved from practical field guardians to beloved cultural symbols — appearing each fall as creative decorations, festival icons, and reminders of humanity’s timeless link to the harvest.are pests from vineyards while blessing the harvest.
As the Roman Empire expanded, scarecrow figures traveled across Europe, inspiring new cultural twists. Japanese farmers, around the same time, built scarecrows called kakashi, dressing them in straw hats and coats to guard rice fields — even giving them mythological status through the deity Kuebiko, the “all-knowing scarecrow”.
