The Knight Allen House is a historic house located in Provo, Utah

Provo, Utah

Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...

. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Knight-Allen House * 390 East Center Street * Provo, Utah

The Knight-Allen home was constructed in 1899 in the Victorian style. Containing a Moorish tin scalloped roof, an Italianate turret, distincitve lintels, Romanesque porch tiers, and several ornate window shapes, it is an excellent example of a Victorian Eclectic home. The Knight-Allen House was designated to the Provo City Historic Landmarks Registry on June 19, 1996.

Jessie Knight

Perhaps the wealthiest man in Provo at the time, Jesse Knight was born in the year 1845 in Nauvoo, Illinois. Jessie’s family migrated west, and reached Utah in the year 1857. Twelve years later Jessie married a woman by the name of Amanda McEwan, and began a ranch in Payson, Utah. Following an impression that he had, Jessie 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 Jessie remained an active supporter of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and his mines were called the “cleanest mining camps in the west (Utah State Historical Society p. 2).” Jessie Knight died in 1921, designating much of his amassed fortune to B.Y.U. and various other institutions..

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

Charles E. Loose House

The Charles E. Loose House is a historic house located in Provo, Utah. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Provo East Central Historic District.- Charles E. Loose House * 383 East 200 South * Provo, Utah :...

, the William H. Ray House

William H. Ray House

- William H. Ray House * 415 South University Avenue * Provo, Utah :The William H. Ray House is a historic house located at 415 South University Avenue in Provo, Utah. A prominent non-Mormon in Provo, Utah, William H. Ray was one of the founders of the State Bank of Provo...

, the Knight-Allen House

Knight-Allen House

The Knight Allen House is a historic house located in Provo, Utah. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.- Knight-Allen House * 390 East Center Street * Provo, Utah :The Knight-Allen home was constructed in 1899 in the Victorian style...

, the John R. Twelves House

John R. Twelves House

The John R. Twelves House is a historic house located in Provo, Utah. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.- John R. Twelves House * 287 East 100 North * Provo, Utah : This home was built in 1906 by John R. Twelves. John R...

, the Jesse Knight House

Jesse Knight House

The Jesse Knight House, also known as the Knight Mansion, was a house built for Jesse Knight, located in Provo, Utah. It was built in 1905, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982...

, the Knight-Mangum House

Knight-Mangum House

The Knight-Mangum House is a historic house located in Provo, Utah. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.- Knight Magnum House * 381 East Center Street * Provo, Utah :...

, and the Thomas N. Taylor House

Thomas N. Taylor House

- Thomas N. Taylor House * 342 North 500 West * Provo, Utah :The Thomas N. Taylor House is a historic house located at 342 North 500 West in Provo, Utah. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....

. All of these homes derive from the high style: Eastlake, Shingle, Craftsman, Italianate, Classical, Moorish, Colonial, and Romanesque Revivals. 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 thirty miles southwest of Provo, was founded in 1869 and by 1899 became the leading mining center in Utah with a value of output placed at five million dollars. 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 LDS church made the town one inhabited primarily by Mormons.

Jessie 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. As a result of all these financial successes, the Knight-Allen house was able to be built. It was probably designed by Provo architect Richard C. Watkins.

External Links

• NRHP Listings in Provo Utah