Roger Tofte Created Humpty Dumpty But Roger Tofte Didn’t

In 1964, Roger Tofte bought 20 acres of land in the Enchanted Forest for $4,000 and worked seven years and nights, weekends, and holidays to make his dreams come true. The 84-year-old is responsible for the Egg Man sculpture, which cost $6,000 and took 50 days to complete. Tofte modeled the sculpture after a previous Humpty and used cement, rebar, plaster, and sand to create it.

The statue was so popular, it was exhibited for decades in the Enchanted Forest in Turner, Ohio. But in early July, it fell apart and had to be put back together. When the statue finally reopened, the booties were blue, and the statue was covered with a white sheet. The statue is now up for auction, and Tofte, 84, has pledged to rebuild it from scratch.

The sculpture was so beloved that it was damaged when two barrier-jumpers tried to climb it. Tofte offered to repair it, and the men who caused the accident agreed to pay for the damage. Now, Humpty Dumpty is back to its original form and will be a popular tourist attraction again.

Tofte borrowed money from a second bank and opened the Enchanted Forest in 1971. The first day, seventy-five visitors paid $1 each for an adult admission and fifty cents for children. A front-page article about the park in the local newspaper attracted another thousand visitors. In 1973, Tofte resigned from his job with the highway department to devote all of his time and money to his new venture. His wife served as the business manager, while his daughters Mary and Susan took over the day-to-day operations. His son Kenneth continues to be involved with the operation.

While the Enchanted Forest is no longer a child’s play place, it is still a magical place to visit with a family. There are fun rides, quirky photo ops, and a unique soundtrack to accompany your trip.

Enchanted Forest is located just south of Salem on Interstate 5, and it is a family-run theme park. Visitors can ride rides and see sculptures based on nursery rhymes and fairy tales. In addition to a fairytale castle, the park also has a turreted castle topped by Humpty Dumpty.