From berry stand to thrill park
A century of pie, chicken dinners, gold‑rush nostalgia and ever‑taller coasters.
A roadside stand
Walter and Cordelia Knott begin farming in Buena Park and sell berries from a stand by the road.
The boysenberry & the chicken
Walter cultivates the boysenberry; Cordelia starts serving fried‑chicken dinners that soon draw huge queues.
Ghost Town rises
To entertain waiting diners, Walter builds an Old West town, moving in real historic buildings.
The Hurlbut era
Ride builder Bud Hurlbut creates the Calico Mine Ride and the Timber Mountain Log Ride.
Gates & tickets
The park is fenced and begins charging admission, becoming a full theme park.
The coaster boom
GhostRider (1998), Xcelerator (2002), Silver Bullet (2004) and HangTime (2018) reshape the skyline.
A modern classic
Now part of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the park still serves pie and chicken on the original site.
berry!
Thanks, photographers
All photographs are loaded from Wikimedia Commons and used under their respective Creative Commons or public‑domain licences. Follow each link for the author and licence.
- Ghostrider.JPG
- Knott's Berry Farm - Silver Bullet.jpg
- Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm) 01.jpg
- Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm) 02.jpg
- Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm) 03.jpg
- Xcelerator (Knott's Berry Farm) 2.jpg
- Xcelerator-Cable.JPG
- HangTime (Knott's Berry Farm) 2022 1.jpg
- Behind the graveyard, Ghost Town, Knott's Berry Farm, 2021.jpg
- Timber Mountain Log Ride.jpg
- Log Ride at Knott's Berry Farm.jpg
- Timber Mountain Log Ride, Knott's Berry Farm, 1969.jpg
- Nell and Belle, Knott's Berry Farm, Ghost Town, California (NBY 5354).jpg
- Bud Hurlbut and Walter Knott, 1969.jpg
- Archway, Knotts Berry Farm, 1963.jpg
- Bud Hurlbut in Calico Mine Ride engine, Knott's Berry Farm, circa 1960.jpg
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