By the 1940s, a restaurant, several shops, and other attractions had been constructed on the property to entertain a growing number of visitors, including a replica ghost town.

Ghost Town was Walter Knott's tribute to the pioneers, which included his own grandparents who came to California in a covered wagon from Texas in 1868 (when his mother was about four years old).

He also drew up floor plans, oversaw the construction of buildings, and even spent some time painting concrete to look like natural rock.

[15][16][17][18][19] The museum was once housed in a building (which has since been razed) at Knott's Berry Farm between Jeffries Barn (now known as the Wilderness Dance Hall) and the schoolhouse.

[22] According to Assistant Professor Caroline Rolland-Diamond of the Paris West University Nanterre La Défense: it also appealed to conservative Americans, young and old, because the idealized representation of a past devoid of social and racial tensions that it offered stood in sharp contrast with the political and social upheavals affecting California since the Free Speech Movement erupted at the University of California at Berkeley in 1964.In the late 1960s, a 10-foot-high (3.0 m) brick wall with barbed wire embedded into the top was constructed around "Ghost Town" and for the first time, in 1968, an admission price was required to get into that section of the park (ostensibly to keep out the "hippies" and local long-haired youth from freely "hanging out" in the park that were, on occasion, causing problems and degrading the Knott's "family" image).

[25] Also during this period, an attempt to create a monorail system between Knott's and Disneyland was reportedly in the works for many years, however, project construction never began due to costs and legal issues obtaining needed property and gaining necessary right-of-way access.

[26][27] The Roaring Twenties[28] rethemed Gypsy Camp in the 1970s with the addition of a nostalgic traditional amusement area, Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars, and Knott's Bear-y Tales.

Then with the northward expansion of a 1920s-era Knott's Airfield-themed area featuring the Cloud 9 Dance Hall, Sky Cabin/Sky Jump and Motorcycle Chase steeplechase roller coaster above the electric guided rail Gasoline Alley car ride.

The Motorcycle Chase, a modernized steeplechase rollercoaster built in 1976 by Arrow Development, featured single motorbike-themed vehicles racing side-by-side, each on one of four parallel tracks, launched together.

Gasoline Alley, an electric steel-guide rail car ride below, was built together and intimately intertwined, which enhanced ride-to-ride interaction thrill value.

The Boomerang roller coaster replaced Corkscrew[28] in 1990 with a lift shuttle train passing to and from through a cobra roll and a vertical loop for six inversions each trip.

The Mystery Lodge (1994),[34] inspired by General Motors "Spirit Lodge" pavilion, was a live show augmented with Pepper's ghost and other special effects, which was among the most popular exhibits at Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which was produced by Bob Rogers of BRC Imagination Arts[35] and created with the assistance of the Kwagulth Native reserve in the village of Alert Bay, British Columbia.

[36] Mystery Lodge recreates a quiet summer night in Alert Bay, then guests "move inside" the longhouse and listen to the storyteller weave a tale of the importance of family from the smoke of the bonfire.

The actual event was created by Bill Hollingshead, Gary Salisbury, Martha Boyd and Gene Witham, along with other members of the Knott's Berry Farm Entertainment Department as documented in the DVD Season of Screams.

[63] During this special ticketed event, the entire park (or major portions of it) re-themes itself into a "haunted house" style attraction in the form of mazes and "scare zones" in the evening.

[citation needed] Season of Screams is a DVD produced by an independent company that traces the beginnings of Halloween Haunt and the story behind how it all got started back in 1973.

In 1966, he donated that property to the corporate-municipal County of San Bernardino which then made the town of Calico into a public historic park, for which it charged an entrance/parking fee.

Demonstrations of narrow-gauge railroading and farm equipment hobbyists accompany additional merchant stalls of cottage-craft fairs seasonally at discounted admission which is restricted to Ghost Town only.

The Calico Stage, a large open-air stage in Calico Square, hosts a variety of shows and acts, big and small, from "Home for the Holidays", a Knott's Merry Farm Christmas skit with singing, those of elementary school students, Gallagher, a local band, and the summer-spectacular All Wheels Extreme stunt show featuring youthful performers demonstrating aerial tricks with acrobatics, trampolines, and riding ramps with skates, scooters, skateboards, and freestyle bikes to popular music.

Jersey Lily, Judge Roy Bean's combination courthouse/saloon, offers certified comical "genuine illegal hitchin'" alongside pickles, candy, and sports/soft drinks.

Formerly known as Wild Water Wilderness, now part of Ghost Town, the area features two major rides: the Pony Express, a horse-themed family roller coaster installed in 2008 and Calico River Rapids, which opened in 1988 and was refurbished with a new theme for the 2019 season.

Western Trails Museum, relocated between the candy store and the General Store to accommodate Calico River Rapids (formerly Bigfoot Rapids), still features historical western artifacts large and small, from a hand-powered horse-drawn fire engine to a miniature replica of a borax hauling "Twenty Mule Team" and utensils necessary to survive the prairie and wilderness.

[citation needed] The boardwalk reopened a year later with two flat rides and a new family roller coaster taking the place of Perilous Plunge.

[citation needed] At the south end of the boardwalk is the family interactive dark ride: Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair.

The world's largest Johnny Rockets restaurant is located at Knott's Boardwalk, featuring over 5,900 square feet (550 m2) of indoor dining space for more than 260 guests.

As part of the 30th Anniversary makeover, the train ride received a series of Peanuts vignettes (made by Garner Holt Productions) along the track and narration by the character Linus.

Near the restrooms behind Berry Place are the waterfall overshooting the water wheel and historic gristmill grindstone, a replica of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate fireplace hearth, and what remains of the visible beehive.

[89] The ten-minute-long attraction immersed guests inside of a chaotic hospital haunted by a supernatural central character named Katie and zombie-like patients.

[95] The Orange County Sheriff Department discontinued this arrangement in the late 1980s but Knott's still maintains its own private (albeit unsworn) security force, and its "Station-K" public safety radio designation.

Smucker Company continued to sell the jam and preserves made famous by the Knott family for several years; however, other products, such as the syrups, were phased out due to low demand.