en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knott%27s_Scary_Farm
1 correction found
Knott's Berry Farm was originally modeled after Calico, California
Knott’s Berry Farm did not begin as a park modeled on Calico. It began as the Knotts’ homestead, berry business, and chicken dinner restaurant; the Old West/Ghost Town element was added later.
Full reasoning
This reverses the park’s actual origin story.
According to the U.S. National Park Service’s biography of Walter Knott, Walter and Cordelia Knott moved onto a homestead near Buena Park in 1920, sold berry plants from their farm in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and Cordelia’s chicken dinner restaurant opened in 1934. The same source says Walter Knott only began building an Old West display in 1940 to entertain restaurant customers waiting to eat, and that this later grew into the theme park.
Knott’s own current site also still frames Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant as “the place that started it all,” which is consistent with the park’s origin as a farm/restaurant destination rather than a park originally modeled on Calico.
So while Ghost Town was later inspired by Old West history and related to Walter Knott’s interest in Calico, the whole park was not originally modeled after Calico. The park started as the Knott family’s farm and restaurant business, and the western theming came afterward.
2 sources
- Walter Knott - Homestead National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Walter Knott and his wife, Cordelia, moved onto a homestead near Buena Park, California in 1920... During the late 1920s and early ’30s, they sold berry plants directly from their farm... In June 1934, she served eight fried chicken dinners... To entertain customers waiting to eat at the restaurant, in 1940 Walter Knott began building a small display that paid homage to the Old West.
- Knott's Berry Farm official site
Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, the place that started it all!