THE KNOTT'S BERRY FARM MUSEUM

* Jay Jennings Talks Knott's on November 7th! *

(Knott's train robbers escorting Jay Jennings to The Buena Park Library)

Knott's Berry Farm book author and historian, our very own curator, Jay Jennings, will be discussing the history of Knott's Berry Farm and Ghost Town at The Buena Park Library on Saturday, November 7th at 2 p.m. Following the presentation, he'll be signing copies of his current book, "Knott's Berry Farm: The Early Years". 100 copies will be available for sale at the event. The Buena Park Library is located at 7150 La Palma Ave.

* Knott's: The Early Years Book Signing *

(Jay Jennings addresses the crowd, as he prepares to sign books)

On August 29, 2009, from noon til 3pm, Knott's Museum curator, Jay Jennings, signed copies of his book, "Knott's Berry Farm: The Early Years", as nearly 300 people waited in a very long line that stretched out from the Courtyard all the way to the entrance of The Chicken Dinner Restaurant. A highlight of the event was when Disney's Head Imagineer, Tony Baxter, showed up and got a few books signed.
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(Walter Knott's grandson, Steve, looks over Jay Jennings' book)

(The long line outside!)

(Knott's fans anxiously await to get their books signed)

(Three hours of signing books!)
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(Jay Jennings signs a copy of his book for Tony Baxter of Disney)

1. Knott's Collectibles

Welcome to the Knott's Berry Farm Museum, where you'll find over 50 years of Knott's history on display in six exhibits (Collectibles, Menus, Maps, Souvenir Books, Tickets, and Postcards) from the 1930s up until the 1970s. Unfortunately, the old farm we all grew up with is now sadly gone. To keep those cherished years and memories alive, a sample of the museum's inventory can be viewed online until a permanent home can be found to showcase the entire collection. Here, we present a variety of rare objects, items and relics that were available at Knott's Berry Farm during the early years.

(CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

This online museum is dedicated to Knott's Berry Farm founder, Walter Knott.

(Photo Courtesy of The Orange County Archives)

Here is the curator of the Knott's Berry Farm Museum (yours truly), dusting off old relics and putting them on display.
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COIN BANK (1950s), MUSIC BOX (1950s), TIE RACK (1950s),
LIBERTY BELL (1970s), TABLE MAT (1950s)

WOODEN WAGON (1950s), JELLY JAR AND BOX (1950s),
OIL LAMP (1960s), JAM JAR (1940s), WALTER KNOTT LP (1970s)
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MUGS, GLASSES AND JARS (1950s-70s), Part 1
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MUGS, GLASSES AND JARS (1950s-70s), Part 2
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MUGS, GLASSES AND JARS (1950s-70s), Part 3
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MUGS, GLASSES AND JARS (1950s-70s), Part 4 /
MATCHBOOKS (1939-78)
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PIE TINS (1940s), JUG (1970s), BOTTLE (1960s),
SHAKERS (1950s), SPOON TRAY (1950s) /
ASHTRAYS (1940s-70s), Part 1
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ASHTRAYS (1940s-70s), Part 2
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ASHTRAYS (1940s-70s), Part 3
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ASHTRAYS (1940s-70s), Part 4 / LITTLE CHAPEL BELL (1940s)
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SERVING TRAYS (1970s), PLATE (1950s),
DECORATIVE TILE (1970s)
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45 RECORD (1940s), SUPER-8 MOVIE (1960s),
CARDS (1940s), PAPER WEIGHT (1950s)
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KEYCHAINS (1940s-50s), SPOONS (1940s-50s), GOLD (1970s),
BADGE (1970s), CHARM (1950s), NEEDLE THREADER (1940s),
HORSE (1950s), ERASER (1950s)
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JAY JENNINGS WITH DAVE BOURNE OF
"THE WAGONMASTERS" AT THE
GRAND OPENING OF THE KNOTT'S MUSEUM
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2. Knott's Menus

Knott's Berry Farm menus are a neat relic of days gone by. Beginning with a one-page menu in 1928 and continuing throughout the years with different incarnations of The Chicken Dinner Restaurant menu, each version is a colorful reminder of how Knott's used to be. The early, color menus featured a Rockwellian, slice of life on the cover; a boysenberry field, a group of boysenberries, the restaurant, trees and old automobiles. Later editions kept the same scenery on the cover with minor changes. By the late 1960s, the menu cover changed drastically, featuring a montage of Old West items, including a rifle and an old framed picture of the restaurant's interior. Other interesting menus came from The Steakhouse and The Ghost Town Grill. The Steakhouse menu featured Indian Chief's and Squaws in their magnificent head dresses on the cover during the late-1940s and early 50s. One edition of The Steakhouse menu was even in the shape of a buffalo (see display). But the one thing about all these menus that stands out, was not only did you get a list of food, drinks and desserts, but each one had extra pages filled with brief, Knott's family biographies and photographs of the latest attractions of the day. One of my personal favorite sections of each menu were the two adjoining pages that showed how many of Mrs. Knott's chicken dinners were served on an annual basis at the farm. The fact is, Knott's Berry Farm menus are a very important collectible, not only because they show how inexpensive the food on the menu was, but because each one serves as a time capsule of what the farm was like during the early years.

Knott's Berry Place Tea Room Menu (1934-36)
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Knott's Berry Place Tea Room Menu (1937-47)
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Knott's Berry Farm
Chicken Dinner Restaurant Menu (1947-50)
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Knott's Berry Farm
Chicken Dinner Restaurant Menu (1951-56)
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Knott's Berry Farm
Chicken Dinner Restaurant Menu (1957-58)
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Knott's Berry Farm
Chicken Dinner Restaurant Menu (1959-66)
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Knott's Berry Farm
Chicken Dinner Restaurant Menu (1967-74)
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Steak House Menu (1948)
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Steak House Menu (1949)
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Steak House Menu (1950)
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Steak House Menu (1954-67)
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Ghost Town Grill Menu (1949)
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Ghost Town Grill Menu (1950s-60s)
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Ghost Town Grill Menu (1970s)
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3. Knott's Maps

One of the more enjoyable aspects of visiting Knott's Berry Farm was trying to cover the entire farm during one visit. To help you find the various attractions, rides, shops and eateries, Knott's handed out various guide-maps to help you find your way around the farm. Most of these maps (i.e., "Map of Knott's Berry Farm and Ghost Town and 42 Intriguing Shops") folded into four pages, with a list of attractions on the front side and a map of the grounds taking up the entire back side. Early versions of these maps (from the 1950s and 60s) mainly consisted of black and white sketches that helped pinpoint exactly where the various attractions and shops were located. In the 1970s, Knott's began distributing a larger, more colorful, map of the entire farm, down to the littlest detail. It's interesting to see how these maps changed throughout the years and what attractions were added to each new map.

1949
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1950
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1955
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1958
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1960
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1965
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1969
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1971
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1973
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1976
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1978
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1979
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1979
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4. Knott's Books

Unlike the dozens of Disneyland books and pictorial souvenir guides that have been available over the last 50 years, Knott's Berry Farm books and pictorial souvenir guides are few and far between, so they are definitely more harder to find. A few early books about Knott's Berry Farm, The Calico Railway and Calico Ghost Town were written in the late 1940s and early 50s (souvenir books mostly) and three books about Walter Knott were written in the 50s, 60s and 70s (all on display here). Outside of these books and pictorial souvenir guides (i.e.,“Ghost Town News”), there really wasn't a lot written about Knott's Berry Farm, although it must be said that the pictorial guides were very educational, with their color photos and Old West prose, each one was like a Knott's history lesson.