The Jesse Knight House, also known as the Knight Mansion, is a historic house in Provo,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

built for

Jesse Knight Jesse Knight (6 September 1845 — 14 March 1921) was an American mining magnate, one of relatively few Latter-day Saints in 19th century Western America to find major success in the field. After the death of his father Newel Knight, Jesse's f ...

. It was built in 1905, and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1982. This home was designated to the Provo City Historic Landmarks Register on June 19, 1996.

Description

Jesse Knight

Perhaps the wealthiest man in Provo at the time, Jesse Knight was born in 1845 in Nauvoo,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Knight's family migrated west, and reached Utah in 1850. Eighteen years later Knight married Amanda McEwan and soon began a ranch in

Payson, Utah Payson is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo– Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 21,101 at the 2020 census. History Pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by J ...

. Following an impression that he had, Knight began a mining operation in the Eureka area and became rich. He subsequently bought other mines, founded a bank, purchased real estate in Provo, bought the Provo Woolen Mills, and started farming and cattle interests in Canada. Throughout all of these efforts Jesse remained an active supporter of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

, and his mines were called the "cleanest mining camps in the west" (Utah State Historical Society p. 2). Knight died in 1921, designating much of his amassed fortune to BYU and various other institutions.

Structure

Two-and-a-half storeys tall, the Jesse Knight House was built in the Colonial Revival Style. Possessing a symmetrical facade, the detailing of the home exhibits "a broad entablature with a boxed cornice with egg and dart ornament and dentils on the frieze, swan's neck pedimented dormers, Ionic capitals on quoins that are meant to resemble pilasters, pilasters on the corners of the dormers and flanking the first floor windows, and the Ionic columns" (Utah State Historical Society p. 2).

The Victorian Mansions of Provo

Built between the years 1893 and 1908 in Provo, Utah, this group of Victorian mansions are historically significant and represent not only fine architecture but some of the most successful men of the city and state at the time. These mansions include the Charles E. Loose House, the William H. Ray House, the Knight-Allen House, the John R. Twelves House, the Jesse Knight House, the Knight-Mangum House, and the Thomas N. Taylor House. All of these homes derive from the high style: Eastlake, Shingle, Craftsman,

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

, Classical, Moorish,

Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

, and Romanesque. Made primarily of brick, these homes exhibit the finest architecture and most ornate detailing to be found in the city of Provo.

Jesse Knight and the Tintic Mining Industry

The successful commercial mining of precious metals and minerals transformed Utah's economy from basically an agrarian base to a more industrialized state. Within this development the Tintic Mining District, located approximately southwest of Provo, was founded in 1869 and by 1899 became the leading mining center in Utah with a value of output placed at $5 million. A central figure in Tintic success was Jesse Knight and the Knight family who resided in Provo. Jesse Knight attained wealth with his Humbug mine in the mid-1890s. The large silver producer allowed Knight to develop other mines in the East Tintic area. Knightsville grew around the workings and became touted as the only saloon-free, prostitute-free, privately owned mining camp in the U.S. His strict adherence to doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made the town one inhabited primarily by members of that Church. Jesse Knight was able to expand farther than the tintic mines, reaching to the power plant in Santaquin, the Tintic drain tunnel project, the Knight Dry farm, and the smelters at Silver City. The Bonneville Mining company, the Knight Woolen Mills, Ellison Ranching Company, The American-Columbian Corporation, The Springville-Mapleton Sugar Company, The Spring Canyon Coal Company, Utah Savings Bank, The Layton Sugar Company, and the Tintic Drain Tunnel Company all represent facets of the Knight Investment Company. The architects Walter E. Ware and Alberto O. Treganza either separately or together were engaged in the construction of the Jesse Knight House.

Preservation

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as part of a multiple property submission that nominated seven and listed six Provo houses. The listed houses are the Knight-Mangum House, the John R. Twelves House, this, the Jesse Knight House, the Knight-Allen House, the William H. Ray House, and the Thomas N. Taylor House. The seventh, the Charles E. Loose House, was determined to be NRHP-eligible but was not NRHP-listed due to owner objection. and

References

* * 2002. "Historic Provo" Provo City Landmarks Commission. * Temme, Debbie/ Cannon, Ken/ Notarianni, Phil. National Park Service. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form." Summer 1980 * Hinckley, Ann. “Utah Historic Sites Inventory Form.” Utah Historical Society. Summer 1980.

External links

NRHP Listings in Provo Utah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Jesse house Houses in Provo, Utah National Register of Historic Places in Provo, Utah Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Utah Knight family (Latter Day Saints)