Knott was born on December 11, 1889, in San Bernardino, California. His parents were Rev. Elgin Charles Knott, a Southern Methodist minister originally from Tennessee, and Margaret Virginia Daugherty Knott.[1][2] Knott's father was a preacher at a church in Santa Ana, California when he was born.
When Elgin died of tuberculosis in 1896, Margaret moved Walter and his brother to Pomona, California.[2] Walter Knott had aspirations of being a farmer from a very young age, and ended his formal schooling at age 16 (which was legal in California at the time) in order to start working.[2]
Career
Early efforts
Knott was adept at growing produce, and would rent vacant lots around Pomona to grow produce to contribute to his family's income.[2] At the time he married Cordelia Hornaday in 1911, Knott was working for a cement contractor.[2]
In 1913, Knott homesteaded on 160 acres in the Mojave Desert near Newberry Springs and made his first effort at farming, which was unsuccessful.[2] Knott tried farming again in 1917 near Shandon, California—growing produce to feed the employees of a cattle ranch and selling the excess supply for his own profit. This enterprise proved to be more successful, as Knott and Cordelia made enough money to pay off all his debts and had become a major supplier of produce for the area.[2]
Arrival in Buena Park
Walter Knott tending to his berry plants, 1948.
In 1920, Knott went into a partnership with one of his cousins, berry grower Jim Preston, to farm 20 acres of land in Buena Park, California.[2] In 1923, Knott set up a small berry stand on the property, facing Grand Avenue (now Beach Boulevard) to sell their produce to locals and tourists on their way to the beach.[2] At the end of their original lease in 1927, Parsons decided to go off on his own and Knott purchased the Buena Park farm from his landlord, William H. Coughran.[3]
The next year, in addition to a new house for his family, Knott built an 80-foot-long stucco building on the farm to house a new berry market, a nursery, and a tea room for Cordelia to sell hamburgers, sandwiches, and pies (Cordelia cooked the food in the Knott family kitchen).[2] When the Great Depression began in 1929, Knott started buying parcels around the farm as the price of land dropped.[3]
In 1934, Knott introduced the hybridboysenberry, named after its creator, Rudolph Boysen.[3] The previous year, Knott had secured cuttings from Boysen's dilapidated berry plant—which was a cross between a blackberry, red raspberry and loganberry—and planted and cultivated it at his own farm.[3] The plant produced huge berries, and Knott integrated the boysenberry into all of his products as well as Cordelia's tea room menu.[3]
The same year, Cordelia had an idea to serve fried chicken dinners at her tea room.[2] The chicken was a huge hit and the tea room was expanded into a full restaurant over the next six years. Lines outside the restaurant were often several hours long.[4]
Building an amusement park
Walter Knott and Bud Hurlbut riding on the Timber Mountain Log Ride in 1969
To entertain the waiting chicken restaurant crowds, Knott built several roadside attractions, exhibits and shops, culminating in the building of a western ghost town on the property in 1940.[4] Knott had an interest in American history, particularly the Old West, and purchased buildings from many old ghost towns around the west (California, Arizona, Nevada and other states). [5] The buildings were dismantled, trucked down to Buena Park, and reassembled on the farm. Knott gradually added to the ghost town over the next few years—including a saloon show, melodrama theater, and a full-scale railroad.
Even after Disneyland Park opened in 1955 only eight miles away in Anaheim, Knott's Berry Farm continued to thrive. Walt Disney and Walter Knott had a cordial relationship. Knott and Cordelia attended the opening of Disneyland in July of 1955 and Walt Disney visited Knott's on several occasions both before and after Disneyland opened.[7] The Knotts and the Disneys even dined at a local Chinese restaurant not far from Knott's Berry Farm.[7] They were both members of the original planning council for Children's Hospital of Orange County.
Ronald Reagan speaking at the Knotts' 60th wedding anniversary in 1971
Semi-retirement
Walter Knott remained active in the operation of Knott's Berry Farm until Cordelia's death in 1974, at which point he left day-to-day park operations to his children and focused on political causes.[8][9]
Death and legacy
On December 3, 1981, just eight days shy of his 92nd birthday, Walter Knott died from complications of Parkinson's disease at his home in Buena Park, California.[10] Knott is buried at Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton, California.[11]
The J.M. Smucker Co. owns the "Knott's Berry Farm" brand of jams, jellies, and snack foods—which Sumcker purchased from ConAgra Foods in 2008.[13] Smucker discontinued selling Knott's branded products in 2024.[14]
Personal life
Walter and Cordelia Knott with their four children at Knott's Berry Farm
Walter Knott married his high school sweetheart, Cordelia Hornaday, on June 3, 1911.[15] They had four children: Virginia, Russell, Rachel, and Marion.[16]
After leaving his business operations to his children following the death of his wife on April 12, 1974, Knott focused his attention on conservative politics. Knott was active in a variety of conservative causes, including founding the California Free Enterprise Assistance and endowed various private schools and colleges.[17] He campaigned for Republican politicians like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Knott was also a member of the John Birch Society and sponsored its Orange County chapter.[18]
Through his time as a struggling farmer and businessman during the Great Depression, Knott became a firm believer in rugged individualism—that anyone could be successful through hard work, and any form of government intervention was wrong. Critics say this 'Old West' theme of his amusement park was a romantic and one-sided reflection of his beliefs.[19]
Because of his interest in American pioneer history, Knott purchased and restored the real silver mining ghost town of Calico, California in 1951. As a child, Knott spent a lot of time in Calico living with his uncle. During World War I, he helped to build a silver mill in Calico. In 1966, he deeded Calico to San Bernardino County, California.[20]
^ abMerritt, Christopher and Lynxwiler, J. Eric, Knott's Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott's Berry Farm, pp. 20–31, Angel City Press, Santa Monica, CA, 2010.
^Holmes, Roger; Bailey, Paul (1956). Fabulous Farmer: The Story of Walter Knott and his Berry Farm. Westernlore Press, Los Angeles, CA. pp. 125–52.
^Holmes, Roger and Bailey, Paul, Fabulous Farmer: The Story of Walter Knott and his Berry Farm, pp. 125–52, Westernlore Press, Los Angeles, CA, 1956.
^ abCaramanna, Carly (June 24, 2022). "How the surprising friendship between Walt Disney and Knott's Berry Farm's Walter Knott helped make Disneyland". SFGate.
^Salts, Christiane Victoria, Cordelia Knott: Pioneering Business Woman, pp. 75–78, The Literature Connection Books, Buena Park, CA, 2009.
^Kooiman, Helen, Walter Knott: Keeper of the Flame, pp. 171–84, Plycon Press, Fullerton, CA, 1973.
^Merritt, Christopher and Lynxwiler, J. Eric, Knott's Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knoot's Berry Farm, pp. 154–60, Angel City Press, Santa Monica, CA, 2010.
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