Knights Ferry, California

Knights Ferry
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
California Historical Landmark #347
California's oldest operating general store is located in Knights Ferry.
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Nearest city	Oakdale, California
Coordinates	37°49′11″N 120°39′52″W / 37.81972°N 120.66444°W / 37.81972; -120.66444Coordinates: 37°49′11″N 120°39′52″W / 37.81972°N 120.66444°W / 37.81972; -120.66444
Area	107 acres (43 ha)
Built	1849
Architectural style	Mid 19th Century Revival, Gothic Revival, Classical Revival
NRHP Reference #	75000490
CHISL #	347
Added to NRHP	April 23, 1975

Knights Ferry is an unincorporated historic community in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, it is about 40 miles (64 km) east of Modesto on the Stanislaus River. The Willms Ranch, a California Landmark near the town, was one of many filming locations for the television series Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie. It is home to the Knights Ferry Bridge, the longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi at 330 feet (100 m) in length. Today, it is home to a top-ratedK-8 Elementary School, and a museum about the history of the town and also about local wildlife. The town's ruins include a mill and a jail.

When gold was discovered in California in 1849, Dr. William Knight rediscovered a place which he and John C. Fremont had previously found to be a favorable river crossing, and established a ferry boat there. Soon, the ferry boat prospered and Knight and Captain Vantine built a hotel and trading post near the crossing. On November 9, 1849, Knight was killed by a gunfight on the town's main street; he was buried in an unmarked grave. Knight's family believed Dr. Knight was stabbed to death in his bed and was buried near the gate in the yard of John Dent's house, which was Dr. Knight's place at the time. The Dents immediately took possession of Bill Knight's property at Knight's Ferry following the murder.

Knights Ferry was also the county seat in 1862, as it replaced La Grange. It was soon succeeded by the new, prosperous railroad boomtown of Modesto in 1871.