The Berry Beginning: The Origins of Knott’s Berry Farm
Before the coasters, Ghost Town, and the boysenberry festivals, Knott’s Berry Farm was just that—a farm. A struggling one at first, but through a mix of ingenuity, grit, and a very tasty chicken dinner, it became something more.
In this episode, we take you on a journey back to the roots of Knott’s Berry Farm: the crops, the cooking, and the creativity that turned a roadside berry stand into one of America’s most iconic destinations.
A Farm, a Handshake, and a Dream
📸Walter Knott, Orange County Register Archives
The story begins in the 1920s, when Walter Knott partnered with his cousin Jim Preston. Both men had experience growing crops: Walter had a failing farm, and Jim was working for William H. Coughran’s farm in Buena Park, California. Coughran agreed to a handshake deal for a 7-year lease of a plot of his land to Walter and Jim to grow crops. They started with advanced blackberries and youngberries, and within a year, they had enough of a crop to start selling them to locals and nearby businesses.
By year three, they opened a small berry stand on the property.
When the lease ended, Jim left the venture. Walter not only stayed, but he leased 10 more acres, reinvested heavily, and in 1928, opened an 80-foot business frontage called Knott’s Berry... Place, which included:
- A nursery for berry plants
- A berry market for jams and fresh produce
- A tea room where Cordelia Knott, Walter’s wife, served sandwiches and berry pie
It wasn’t a theme park. Not yet. But it was the beginning of something people would remember.
The Berry That Changed Everything
📸Orange County Register Archives
In 1932, Walter was introduced to George Darrow, who was the head of the Bureau of Plant Industry with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Darrow was looking for Rudolph Boysen, who created a new hybrid berry. When Walter admitted he didn’t know of Boysen, they used a phone book to track him down in nearby Anaheim. The three men met, and Boysen advised that his experiments were long forgotten, and his old farm had been sold to a new owner. Together, they visited his old property and were granted permission to search for any remnants of the hybrid plant. What they found was a small sample struggling to survive in a forgotten ditch.
Boysen explained it was a cross between:
- Red raspberry
- Blackberry
- Loganberry
With permission from the current landowners, Walter took a cutting back to Buena Park. One year later, massive berries began to grow. Walter sold clippings to other growers in the area and helped local farmers get their start.
By 1934, boysenberries were added to Cordelia’s tea room menu. Guests could buy them by the pound or enjoy them in homemade pies, and they were a hit. The boysenberry eventually became the farm’s signature crop.
Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!
📸Orange County Register Archives
Despite the success of boysenberries, the Great Depression made business tough. So in June of 1934, Cordelia Knott tried something bold: she served eight fried chicken dinners on her best wedding china for 65 cents each. These dinners got the locals talking, and the crowds began to gather.
By 1937, the farm was serving 1,240 dinners every weekend, with 1,774 served on Thanksgiving Day alone.
Cordelia didn’t raise the chickens herself—she sourced them from local ranchers with very specific standards:
- Each chicken had to be 3.5 pounds
- Only Rhode Island Red or Plymouth Rock breeds were acceptable
That attention to detail built more than just a reputation—it built a loyal following. A hungry one.
From Card Table to Gift Shop
📸Orange County Register Archives
As crowds grew, Virginia Knott, the couple’s eldest daughter, noticed an opportunity. While guests waited over three hours for a table, she set up a card table in the lobby, selling small trinkets.
By 1939, she had a full retail space—what’s now known as Virginia’s Gift Shop. The combination of good food, smart retail, and family-run charm made Knott’s Berry Place more than just a farm. It became a destination.
The Marketplace Today
📸Photo Credit: WhereInThePark.com
With so many guests waiting for their table, Walter began adding small attractions to keep people entertained—including rock gardens, curiosities, and replicas like George Washington’s fireplace.
The result? What we now call the Marketplace—a shopping and dining district outside the park gates that predates Universal CityWalk and Downtown Disney by over 50 years.
Today, you can still visit:
- The Chicken Dinner Restaurant
- The Berry Market
- Virginia’s Gift Shop
- Other shops and eateries
And that's before you ever walk through the front gates of the park!
📸 Virginia's Gift Shop, as taken from across Grand Ave. Photo Credit: WhereInThePark
Inside Virginia's Gift Shop, you'll find murals and timelines that share the Knott family story, featuring photos, sketches, and articles that trace the farm's evolution from a berry patch to a theme park.
📸 Photo Credit: WhereInThePark
The Legacy That Lives On
Knott’s Berry Farm didn’t begin with a master plan. It began with a patch of land, a forgotten hybrid berry, and a chicken dinner served with love.
Today, you can still walk through that original marketplace, order that famous fried chicken, and taste the boysenberry that changed everything.
And that’s why Knott’s is so unique: it's not just a theme park—it’s a story. A living one. Still growing, one slice of pie at a time.
🎧 Listen to the full story on the podcast
→ Episode 3 – The Berry Beginning
📸 Have old photos or memories from Knott’s?
Join our Facebook Group – Where In The Park Explorers and share your stories!
✨ Articles referenced in this blog: ✨
- Knott's Website - The History of Knott's Berry Farm
- Knott's Website - Historic Timeline
- Book: Knott’s Preserved: From Boysenberry to Theme Park, The History of Knott’s Berry Farm by Christopher Merritt and Eric J. Lynxwiler
- Book: Images of America: Knott's Berry Farm - The Early Years by Jay Jennings
