Knudson Brothers' Buildings Part 2
- Ken Bott
- Jan 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 21
As noted in a previous post, the Knudson brothers eventually moved their wholesale fruit and vegetable trade to a building on Forest near the train depot. Charles and Jonathan were the brothers mostly involved in this endeavor. Jonathan, the youngest brother, taught how to pack fruit (since he knew how it looked to receive it while in Montana) and also invented his own cantaloupe crate. Jonathan also was a director of the State Security Bank, a director of the Box Elder News Company, and a director of the Knudson Investment Company.
James Knudson was a mayor of Brigham City in 1925-26. For 16 years, James owned an ice cream and confectionary on north Main near the Academy building. He also owned a bicycle and repair shop. In 1892, James and his brother Peter built the first shack in “Duckville.” Peter would go on to manage the Knudson Brothers Duck Club for 15 years. The brothers had purchased the marsh land that became “Duckville” from the railroad. Many famous people have come to the Duck Club through the years including John Wayne and Clark Gable.
In 1914, James built a hotel on the corner of Main and Forest that was called the “James Knudson Building,” among other names. James’ brother-in-law, Rudolph Kaiser, managed the hotel for several years. It eventually became known as “Hotel Brigham.” In 1924, the building was enlarged to the west by 66 feet.
William Otto engaged in freighting to Montana and also mined gold in the Snake River. He became prolific in growing and was president of an orchard company which bought over 60,000 trees for people in Brigham City in one year. He owned an orchard that was 8 rods north of the OSL on both sides of the track. He homesteaded the area with his brother, Joseph. William was one of the first to use electric pump wells to water his property. W.O. and C.O. Christensen bought the “Armeda Block” (currently the Idle Isle) and established a hardware store. In the basement, they set up a bowling alley and a shooting gallery. According to W.O.'s son and nephew, the mayor of Brigham City was opposed to the bowling alley and it was dismantled and sent to Logan. In 1921, W.O.’s son and daughter-in-law, Percy and Verabel Call Knudson, would establish the Idle Isle.
Much of Brigham City’s skyline and history is tied to this family. The brothers participated in the city by serving as mayor (James), city councilman (Peter), chairman of the board of trustees when the Whittier School was built (Peter), leadership in the Commercial Club (Jonathan was chairman when the high school was built), and other efforts.
All information and photographs are used for nonprofit educational and noncommercial purposes. This information is primarily taken from a 1910 article from the Box Elder News, an interview with Perc, Floyd, and Chester Knudson by John Stewart on February 8, 1973, and the excellent research of Larry Douglass and Kathleen Bradford in their efforts to get some of these buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photos are from the Compton Collection at the USU Merrill-Cazier Library or unknown.
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