Raymond’s “Knight Residence” gets historical resources designation

Feb 25, 2020 | 1:46 PM

RAYMOND, AB – The Town of Raymond is recognizing a home owned by the man who would become their namesake.

The Knight Residence was built in 1926-27 and was first owned by Oscar Raymond Knight.

Oscar Raymond Knight and his brother Jesse William Knight were sent to southern Alberta by their father Jesse Knight from Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1900 hoping to expand their ranching interests into Canada.

“The untouched short grass prairie landscape captured the heart of the two brothers and they immediately purchased 35,000 acres (12,140 hectares) from [Charles A.] Magrath,” reads a media release from the Town of Raymond.

“Jesse Knight was soon thereafter persuaded to establish western Canada’s first sugar beet factory just northeast of the future town of Raymond, a venture that he agreed he would run for a minimum of 12 years.”

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The resulting Knight Sugar Beet Factory opened in 1903 and later purchased an additional 200,000 acres of land.

“This deal set in motion the surveying and laying out of the townsite of Raymond; Jesse Knight also stipulated that the town be named after his son, Ray Knight.”

Francis B. Rolfson built the Knight Residence and later went on to design other prominent buildings in southern Alberta such as Raymond’s Opera House, the Cardston Tabernacle, Lethbridge’s Central School, and the Raymond Second Ward Chapel (now a community centre).

Town council gave this home the designation under the Historical Resources Act. This does not limit or dictate how a property may be used, but it does mean that the building cannot be demolished or altered in ways that affect its historic character without the written permission from the Town.

by David Opinko