In 1934, Cordelia decided to weather the Great Depression by using the farm’s bounty to open her Tea Room up for full-service dinners. Mrs. Knott’s fabled fried chicken dinners came complete with salad with rhubarb, biscuits, vegetables, mashed potatoes with gravy, and berry pie for dessert, all for 65 cents. In a matter of years, the 20-seat Tea Room became a 350-seat Restaurant with multi-hour waits each evening...

Walter began building a historic 1860s Western mining town – one shop at a time – in 1940 merely as a way to entertain crowds waiting for a table! By the middle of the decade, however, Knott’s “Ghost Town” was an attraction in its own right. In 1947, the Knotts officially established “Knott’s Berry Farm” as a roadside attraction, where guests could buy souvenirs, pan for gold, indulge in chicken dinner, and taste the legendary “boysenberry” cultivated by Knott and fellow farmer Rudolph Boysen of a little rural neighborhood a few miles south called Anaheim.

Knott’s Berry Farm bills itself as “America’s First Theme Park,” and it’s easy to agree. When Walt Disney arrived in town in the 1950s, Knott’s Berry Farm was already a destination! More to the point, Walt often spoke with Walter Knott about his park’s capacity, traffic flow, pricing, and more, all in an effort to refine the “Magic Kingdom” being built down the road.

Everything changed at Knott’s Berry Farm with the arrival of Bud Hurlbut in 1960, whose handshake deal with Knott lead to the construction of two pivotal attractions (and two of the most magnificent classic dark rides in the industry): the Calico Mine Ride and Log Flume – each quite literally an inspiration to Walt Disney.

https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20210802/31808/knotts-bear-y-tales-southern-california-classic-berry-blasting-return-fair

It proved to be a winning combination, and as the crowds grew, the Knotts began beautifying the area and adding little displays out back. Knott’s Berry Place was becoming a roadside attraction. By 1940, there was a lake, a rock garden, an old stage coach, and even a rumbling volcano.

But Walter Knott wanted more. He wanted to celebrate the story of the pioneers crossing the desert by covered wagon, just as his own family had done back in 1868. He decided to build a “cyclorama” – a curved painting with set pieces in front of it that would use sound and lighting effects to tell the tale. And to house the show, he would build a replica of an old time Western building. But why just one building? Why not a whole Western town? And so Ghost Town Village was born.

In 1940 – probably just after berry season – Knott set his construction crew to work building a ghost town out of buildings and materials salvaged from all over the western United States. As he explained it in 1942:

“We are continually seeking materials with which to reconstruct the ghost town here at Knott’s Berry Place. By securing a building here, part of another there, an old bar in one place or something else somewhere else we add to the picture we are attempting to portray – a composite picture of the ghost towns of the west as they appeared in ‘49 and the early ‘50s. We are not collecting museum pieces nor is it the intention to build a museum. Our thought is to collect a town but as that is impossible we try to do the next best thing – build or reconstruct a ghost town that will be authentic and show life as it was lived in the early days.”

By the time berry season rolled around again in the summer of 1941, the first street was ready for the crowds. The Covered Wagon Show that started it all actually took a little longer. It opened on Washington’s Birthday in February 1942.

What began as a one-time construction project stretched over the next two decades, as Ghost Town continued to grow. And the berry farm grew from roadside attraction into a true theme park, as tourists came from all over the world to visit Knott’s Berry Farm.

Along Grand AvenueA few relics of Knott’s earliest days still survive – if you know where to look for them:

• Just south of the Chicken Dinner Restaurant you’ll find the 1928 Knott’s Berry Place building (with a second story added), now home to the Bakery and the Chicken-to-go counter. This was the location of Cordelia Knott’s original tea room. The Knotts’ home was directly behind it, and the household kitchen served both the restaurant and the family.
• To the north is the 1938 restaurant building, which is still in use. Virginia’s original gift shop opened here the same year the building was completed.
• Just south of the 1928 building, behind the Berry Market, you’ll find one of the original rock gardens and the George Washington Fireplace, a replica of one Walter Knott saw at Mt. Vernon, built around 1941.

https://www.ochistoryland.com/knotts

• Ride the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mining Ride. These rides are iconic.
• Eat at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The fried chicken is famous, and the reason Knott’s is here today.
• Visit Calico Ghost Town. This is the oldest section of Knott’s and full of history. If you see a cowboy or one of the townspeople of Calico, ask them to tell you a little bit about the history.
• You can pan for real gold at Knott’s. Panning for gold is located near the entrance for Ghostrider.
• Visit the Blacksmith and have him show you a demonstration on making horseshoes.
• Visit the Old Schoolhouse. A real school house from 1879 that was brought to Knott’s Berry Farm in 1952. The teacher in the schoolhouse is a real historian and will tell you all about it.
• Visit the Western Trails Museum, located across from the Bank. It is filled with curiosities from the days of old.
• Take a picture with the cowboy statues next to the Calico Hotel and the saloon girl statues near the Calico Saloon.
• Visit the Berry Patch across from Silver Bullet to learn more about the little berry that started it all, the boysenberry, which helped create California’s First Theme Park.
• Get a slice of boysenberry pie since boysenberries were founded here. Or get a funnel cake topped with boysenberry topping, or a boysenberry pie milkshake at the Ghost Town Grill.
• Knott's also sells Boysenberry soft serve ice cream from The Churro Factory and Boysenberry Icees, a flavor only sold at Knott’s.
• Ride the Calico Railroad. You may get a visit from some robbers in this real life working Steam Engine.
• See a show at the Charles M. Schultz Theater. Snoopy on Ice or the summer shows are top notch entertainment.
• If you are brave enough to ride Hangtime, do it! It’s the first and only dive coaster in California, and towers over 150 feet with a beyond vertical drop. Yikes!
• You can ride a real stagecoach pulled by the Knott’s horses. It’s located near Calico Square next to the entrance of Fiesta Village.
• Learn more about California History by checking out the California Mission models located throughout Fiesta Village.
• Take a jar of Boysenberry preserves home with you to enjoy Knott’s after you leave.

Want a Knott’s chicken dinner but don’t want to dine at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant? You can get a full chicken dinner to go at Chicken-To-Go located outside the park next to Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

You can get a Boysenberry Frappuccino year round at the Starbucks located just outside the entrance.

https://www.sandytoesandpopsicles.com/orange-county/101-tips-for-visiting-knotts-berry-farm-plus-giveaway

Boysenberry Bites Tasting Card:
Some of the most popular boysenberry treats the festival has to offer which includes generous portions of the following items for only around $25:

• Boysenberry Pizza at Wagon Wheel Pizza
• Boysenberry Ravioli at Spurs Chophouse
• Boysenberry Buffalo Wings at the Gold Trails Hotel
• Boysenberry BBQ Meatballs at the Bank of Calico
• Boysenberry Fry Bread at the Gourmet Churro Factory
• Boysenberry Pana Cotta at the Ghost Town Bakery

https://themotheroverload.com/knotts-berry-farm-boysenberry-festival

Knott’s Scary Farm lies in a blanket of dense fog. All of the mazes are haunted and you practically have to feel your way through the dark to find the attractions you want to see. Test your fate out in nine different mazes, heart-pumping roller coasters, and numerous shows. In the main mazes, you'll have to resist paranormal forces on the prowl, hide from a sinister, murderous clown, and outrun a horde of hungry zombies.

To make things even scarier, there are over 1,000 horrifying monsters hiding in every corner of the park. Prepare to be chased. You won’t escape this one without screaming!

https://www.narcity.com/knotts-scary-farm-has-two-new-intense-haunted-mazes

Scattered throughout the Calico area are Trick or Treating stations with friendly ghosts and towns folk of Ghost Town. They even provide treat bags containing maps and other goodies when you walk through the main gates of the park.

In Calico Park, you can hang out in Linus Van Pelt’s Great Pumpkin Patch where you can take photos, enjoy crafting and listing to the musical Creepy Crooners. At the Livery Stable, Stanley Scarecrow has opened up the barn and has the Creepy Critters of Calico on display. You’ll see hissing cockroaches, spiders and more.

https://balancingthechaos.com/family-friendly-halloween-celebration-at-knotts-spooky-farm-knotts-knottsspookyfarm

All throughout there are bows, garland, wreaths, and the stores are filled with Christmas decorations.

https://temeculablogs.com/knotts-berry-farm-at-christmas