In 1928 Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight, purchased about two hundred acres of land at Emerald Bay in the Lake Tahoe region of California. [1][3] She also built a small teahouse on Fannette Island inside the bay. Bliss . Failed to report flower. Vikingsholm is administered by the California Park System. In 1884, Lora gave birth to their only child, a son Nathaniel, who later married Helen Fargo, heiress to the Wells Fargo banking dynasty founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Emerald Bay State Park is one of the most popular destinations in Lake Tahoe. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. [1][2], She and James Moore bought land at Carnelian Bay in Lake Tahoe in 1914 to build a large home known as Wychwood, as well getting another retreat on Lake Geneva. This tour passes by many beautiful spots around the lake shores, including the shores of beautiful Emerald Bay, Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight's Vikingsholm Castle and Tea House at Fanette Island, Eagle Waterfall and more. The items she couldnt import she had replicated. Lora Josephine Knight wasn't Scandinavian herself, however; she was born as Lora Josephine Small in Illinois in 1864, and her family claimed English descent. In Santa Barbara, Knight built a 22,000-square-foot villa on the hillside of Montecito. Nearly all of the materials were sourced on site or nearby. But in 1910, Nathaniel suddenly died. She made financial contributions stretching from Santa Barbara, CA, to Reno, NV, and went toward youth groups, community centers, and college scholarships. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Resend Activation Email. Try again. She married James Hobart Moore, who she met while he worked with her father in his law practice, and who along with his brother became rich by gaining controlling interests in a large number of companies such as the Diamond Match Company, U.S. Steel, Union Pacific, and Nabisco. Lora Small was born in Galena, Illinois, in 1864. Vikingsholm Castle . In later years, Charles Lindbergh frequently visited Lora Knight at her Santa Barbara estate and the Vikingsholm castle as well. Find the . [2], In 1922, she married stockbroker Harry French Knight of St. There was a problem getting your location. Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight chose Emerald Bay to build her castle, Vikingsholm. Lick leaned toward Von Schmidts recommendation, but the dying benefactor designated a committee to make the final decision. The California landmark is one of the finest Scandinavian structures located outside of the Nordic countries. In 1884, Lora gave birth to their only child, a son Nathaniel, who later married Helen Fargo, heiress to the Wells Fargo banking dynasty founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Emerald Bay also reminded her of a Norwegian fjord with it steep surrounding slopes and deep blue water. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. A system error has occurred. She hired architect Myron Hunt, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright. The horse stable housed 60 thoroughbreds. Laura Josephine "Lora" Small Knight Birth 1 May 1864. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Lora Josephine Small Knight I found on Findagrave.com. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? It was the first permanently occupied mountaintop observatory in the world and for nearly 10 years its telescope was the largest ever built. Please try again later. She died there in 1945 at the age of 82. After traveling to Scandinavia Mrs. Knight along with her architect returned to the Lake Tahoe area and started construction on the Castle with ideas they gathered on their European tour. She had a granite teahouse that resembled a small castle built on the crest of the island. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. [1] She became one of the wealthiest women in America according to newspapers at the time. [1] He won a gold medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics as part of American golf team, and was known for his lavish parties, but died at 25 in 1910 after a night in "Chicago's most famous and expensive house of prostitution," which made national news and led to a citywide crackdown on brothels and morphine abuse in Chicago. It became the summer home for Mrs. Knight and her family for 15 years until her death. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism. [1][2] They also owned homes in Illinois and Wisconsin. In 1922, Lora Moore married Harry French Knight, a stockbroker. She spent 15 summers in the house and, along with her numerous guests, enjoyed the nature, wildlife and peaceful tranquility of the estate until her death in 1945. The family spent most of their time in Chicago but vacationed in California often. . Knight had derived design ideas from 11th century wooden churches in Norway and carvings from these ancient church entrances were incorporated into many Vikingsholm door entries. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Your email address will not be published. They also spent time at their luxury homes in Illinois and Wisconsin. Most of the materials came from the Tahoe Basin, trees were cut for their size and lack of knots, and the granite for the foundation and walls was quarried from behind the house. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. She loved Scandinavian architecture and Emerald Bay reminded her of a Norwegian fjord with its steep surrounding slopes and deep blue water. Her "Castle in the Sky" features intricate . This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Scandinavia comes to Lake Tahoe at a historic home. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. In the winter, Vikingsholm is quiet. It took 200 workers to complete the building. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. They visited Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden drawing inspiration for centuries old buildings and castles.. Construction of Vikingsholm began in the fall of 1928. Now the property is a California State Park and can be visited year-round with tours of the Vikingsholm interior in summer months. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference. In total, construction of Vikingsholm was estimated to cost $500,000. As fate would have it, Lora married James and her sister Ada married William. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. In fact, Vikingsholm was commissioned by Mrs Lora Josephine Knight who had been in love with Scandinavian fjords. Today, Lora Knights Viking castle is considered perhaps the finest example of Scandinavian architecture in North America. Emerald Bay also reminded her of a Norwegian fjord with its steep surrounding slopes and deep blue water. From the mountainside, you can see Fanette Island and just barely make out the box-like shape of a stone teahouse on top. Stones were quarried from the back of their property, where Eagle Falls spills over granite cliffs. [5] Despite the divorce, Lora continued to use her ex-husband's last name. The only way to get to Fannette Island is by boat, kayak, or canoe. Despite the expense and effort, the tea house was rarely used, even though Lora spent all her summers at Vikingsholm until her death in 1945. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Built in the late 1920s from owner's Lora Josephine Knight's inspiring Norwegian travels Vikingsholm was constructed from local granite and hand-hewn timbers. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? 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Set off on the steep trail down to the lakeside. Nathan was an avid golfer and a participating member of the American Olympic team that won the gold medal at the 1904 Summer Games in Missouri. Not a lot to do there, except hike up to the Tea House and take some photos. Newspapers reported that Nathaniels death had a devastating impact on his parents, especially his father, who grew ill soon after. Lora and her husband, James, traveled extensively in California and to foreign countries. Although their marriage was short-lived, Lora and Harry Knight were among the small group of St. Louis, Missouri, businessmen who were the principal financial backers of Charles Lindberghs famed 1927 flight across the Atlantic from New York to Paris. His nationally reported death led to a crackdown on Chicago brothels and morphine abuse. After their purchase of the Tahoe property, James health began to fail and he died in 1916, leaving Lora an estate worth $15 million. Try again later. Construction on the castle began in the spring of 1929 and proceeded quickly as 200 workmen and artisans, housed in temporary barracks, quarried nearby stone and cut lumber. Finnish carpenters were then brought in to hew timber, while a Scandinavian craftsman was hired to create the intricate exterior wood carvings. As fate would have it, Lora married James and her sister Ada married William. Knight had already spent 16 summers in Tahoe before she built Vikingsholm. . In 1914, the Moores built a lakefront estate in Lake Tahoe at Chinquapin which they called Wychwood. Eight years before her marriage to Harry Knight, Mrs. Josephine Moore purchased the land at Chinquapin from descendants of Lake Tahoe timber baron Duane L. Bliss. According to McLaughlin, Lora Knight was known for her hospitality and philanthropy. Carved dragon heads are common as both interior and exterior decorations, as they were used in old Viking castles to divide the main room between the chieftain and his most honored guests from the women and children. Harry was an amateur pilot and Harry and Laura were among Charles Lindberghs major donors for his solo Atlantic flight. Emerald Bay also reminded her of a Norwegian fjord with it steep surrounding slopes and deep blue water. Lora and her sister Ada married two brothers, William and James Moore, who worked as partners in their fathers law firm. Mrs. Knight had traveled Scandinavia with her architect where they were inspired by the architecture. His nationally reported death led to a crackdown on Chicago brothels and morphine abuse. They visited Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as they inspected buildings dating back 1,000 years. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism. Many communities were interested in Licks $2 million estate and several protested the Tahoe location insisting that they were better suited for an observatory than the snowbound lake. But nature is the real draw. She and her husband backed Charles Lindbergh's flight. Despite its ancient motif, Vikingsholm had all the conveniences available in the 1930s, including electricity, modern fixtures and private baths in the bedrooms. Tag: Lora Josephine Knight. James Lick, a Pennsylvania Dutchman, first struck it rich in the California Gold Rush and then parlayed his luck into a fortune by investing in San Franciscos booming real estate market. Add to your scrapbook. Loras marriage to Harry Knight didnt last for more than a couple of years before they divorced. In 1873, engineer Alexis Von Schmidt recommended the site for the proposed James Lick Astronomical Observatory that would house the worlds most powerful space telescope. Nathan Moore apparently knew how to have a good time, dying at the age of 25 of natural causes after spending the previous night at Chicagos most famous and expensive house of prostitution. Subscribe to Envato Elements for unlimited Stock Video downloads for a single monthly fee. The locally quarried granite boulders were ferried by barge to the island where derricks lifted them stone by stone. After Lora's father passed, the brothers took over the law firm and together, they became incredibly wealthy businessmen based in Chicago. Today, the historic estate feels almost as much a part of Emerald Bay as Eagle Falls, Fanette Island or the centuries-old trees. Hence the Viking-inspired home on the lake. He was 25. Inspired by Scandinavian architecture and 11th century Nordic churches and castles, widowed heiress Lora Josephine Knight built Vikingsholm in 1929. The sibling entrepreneurs eventually amassed quite a fortune with controlling interest in a number of large American corporations such as the Diamond Match Company, U.S. Steel and National Biscuit (Nabisco), the maker of Oreo cookies. One newspaper article, published in the Reno Gazette Journal, said Nathaniel was lavish with money. He once invited a few friends to Broadway and hosted a $20,000 dinner. Lindbergh approached the Knights about helping fund his effort to be the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic at a St. Louis airfield where Harry, an aspiring aviator, was taking flying lessons. In the 1960s, the property was vandalized, especially the teahouse, which is now only four rock walls and empty squares for windows. Knight had derived design ideas from 11th century wooden churches in Norway and carvings from these ancient church entrances were incorporated into many Vikingsholm door entries. The roof of the north and south wings is topped with sod where grass and flowers grow each spring. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. The property had a boat house constructed for her mahogany cabin cruiser named Valkyrie and a teahouse constructed on Fannette Island made from bricks cut from local granite. They visited Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as they inspected buildings dating back 1,000 years. Burial Burial Details Unknown. In 1873, engineer Alexis Von Schmidt recommended the site for the proposed James Lick Astronomical Observatory that would house the worlds most powerful space telescope. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. The building, as creepy as it may look, was actually a tea house, built by Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight, ex-wife of wealthy stockbroker Charles French Knight. EDITORS NOTE: This article was originally published in the Summer 2017 edition of Tahoe Magazine. [1][2] She hired Swedish architect Lennart Palme, who she was related through marriage, and chose a Scandinavian motif based on Palme's own home in New York. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Burial. Vikingsholm is said to be one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the Western Hemisphere, according to California State Parks, which manages the land today. Mrs. Knight had Vikingsholm built for her as a summer home in 1929. Over 200 artisans, some from Scandinavia, and workmen constructed the estate by hand hewing the timbers, carving the intricate designs, hand planning the wood for the interior walls, and forging the hinges and latches. Summer 2017 edition of Tahoe Magazine the divorce, Lora Knights Viking castle is considered perhaps the Scandinavian. Was estimated to cost $ 500,000 Lora and her husband, James, traveled in! 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