Today’s post features the miner statue that used to be atop the fountain over by the goldmine at the entrance to ghost town. Following an internet tip I headed out to Cabazon California off of Interstate 10 on the way to Palm Springs. The statue stands in front of the Wheel Inn Café which can be found directly in front of Claude Bell's dinosaurs.
“The Cabazon dinosaurs were started in the 1960s by Knott's Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell (1897-1988) to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Cafe which opened in 1958.”
-excerpt from Wikipedia-
Although I cannot confirm that this is the exact statue that used to reside at the farm I can say that if it is not the original it is an exact replica as can be seen in the photos below. The only difference I see is the paint color. Can anyone can confirm its authenticity? Does anyone know how long it has been there? I am pretty sure that I still saw it at the farm back in the mid 90’s. Perhaps there was more than one. It’s topics like these that inspired me to start this blog. I look forward to learning and sharing more.
Take care and Thanks for readin’
Miner Statue in front of the Wheel Inn Cafe in Cabazon
Again from a different angle
What I believe is the same statue at it's original home at Knott's Berry Farm (photo is from Davelandweb.com I believe)
And for fun a shot of one of Claude Bell's Dinosaurs.
23 comments:
Claude Bell made several different versions of the miner (at several different sizes) - so my thought has always been that this one isn't the one that used to be at Knott's...
Hello!
it is my first time reading your blog! :D
I had no idea that the Knotts sculptures had history. I just saw then as another piece of the park and nothing else.
Thanks for sharing that with us!
Jackie
vitaminOC.com
Thanks Chris! I wasn’t completely convinced that it was the same one. It sure looks the same and it is also the right size. There is a similar miner statue at Calico Ghost Town but it is much bigger than this one. I guess the Calico statue was made by Mr. Bell as well. I am looking very forward to reading your book when it comes out.
Welcome Jackie! There is a wealth of history at Knott’s. Each year there is less and less of it though, so I started this blog as a way to learn and share more about it before it is all gone. If you haven’t already heard of them I encourage you to check out the following blogs that have fantastic Knott’s information from time to time.
http://outsidetheberm.blogspot.com/
http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/
http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/
Outside the Berm has really gone the extra mile on Knott’s stuff lately.
The fountain with the miner was definitely gone by the 90's. I started working there in early 1982 and it was already gone by then. I want to say that they removed that fountain when they moved and enlarged the entrance to the park in the late 70's...but I can't be sure.
Was the miner out at the corner of Beach and La Palma the same size and pose as the one on the fountain? That one was supposedly blown up by vandals and was missing for a quite some time, but it was later replaced with the metal version that's there today.....it IS still there today, isn't it?
There is another larger version that we know of in the San Bernardino mountains.
I can confirm that the statue at the cafe is not the original from Knotts. I don't know what happened to the miner, but the original Donkey is in the front yard of a home in Canyon Lake that my wife and I bought from Bud Hurlbut. Bud is owner of Hurlbut Amusement and was an original partner in Knotts. Bud is now in his 90s and still active in his company. He is a treasure to speak. He has many stories that include names like Disney, Agnew, Warner Bros, etc. He is an amazing man...a walking history book.
We would like to reunite our donkey with the original miner (if it still exists) so would appreciate feedback or leads from anyone who knows anything. Thanks!
i grew up down the street from knotts, that statue was part of the local scenery right there on the corner of beach and la palma, i seem to remember it being at the edge of the parking lot where camp snoopy is now .. .. BUT one day we went by and .. uh oh .. all that was left of the prospector was his boots. i swear i'm not making this up , it was in the early 80s or so , it appeard that someone had cut the statue down and stole it .. we always commented after that how the new one didnt look the same at all, he was scrawnier..
i love knotts i'm glad i found your blog,i live in san diego now and can only vist once or twice a year,i find many of the things cedar fair has done to my home park deplorable, like the demolishing of the haunted shack. , and at the same time commend them for things like restoring the peek ins, and keeping the mine train in wonderful shape. i can remember playing in the gypsy camp wagons when they were in a backyrd of a home based antique store down beach ..cool blog i get sentimental about old knotts
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The miner is Seldom Seen Slim (aka Charles Ferge). He was a miner and recluse out in Death Valley, Walter Knott new him and visited him as did my Grandparents. My Mom remembers my Grandpa taking him food and supplies when they would go camping out there when she was a kid. If you look for photos of him on the web you'll see the resemblance.
I love reading all the comments on the statue of Seldom Seen Slim that my Father Claude K. Bell sculpted for Mr. Knott. Actually he made three statues, one was placed on the corner of Beach & LaPalma and the second one was on the corner of LaPalma and Western. The third statue, the one in the picture that is in front of the Wheel Inn in Cabazon, CA, was from the fountain outside my Father's Studio "Portrait's 'n Pastel" that he ran for over 40 years. When they took it down my Father brought it out to Cabazon where he built the dinosaurs and placed it there. Sorry, but Bud Hurlbut did not have it ever! LOL
i remember when they put the miner and mule up at the wheel in they both came from knotts berry farm whatever is in your yard is a inposter sorry i knew the daughters of the man that built the wheel good people but now there is only a concrete slab where the miner and mule stood for three and a half decades
My sister's late father-in-law, Edmund McKnight, worked at Knotts and as I was informed, posed for the original miner's statue on La Palma and Beach. He lived across from me in Buena Park at the time and we were close friends. Could you verify that he did pose for the statue? My son brought up the subject and I told him I would try and find out if it was true. I don't have any reason to doubt it; but you never know. Thank you for any information you can give me.
I own a big Jesus that Claude Bell made
The Wheel Inn closed and the building has been razed. Does anyone know what happened to the statue of the prospector and his burro?
I have been told by a long-time Knott's employee that the prospector and burro statue that was at Beach Blvd. and La Palma Ave. was damaged beyond repair during the construction of Camp Snoopy. It was replaced by a statue made by a different artist.
The one at Western & La Palma went to Calico, California.
The smaller one, that was in front of Bell's portrait studio (That building still stands, and is now the Geode Shop at Knott's. The portrait artists are at the north end of Camp Snoopy.) went to Bell's restaurant in Cabazon, California.
The restaurant, the Wheel Inn, later went out of business and the building razed. The statue was removed prior to that. Anyone know where it went?
My uncle and aunt has the donkey and the miner in his backyard in Palm Desert, CA. He had an old western saloon/area built in his backyard and purchased the statues to put there.
Thanks so much for posting that! Post some photos if you get a chance.
Do you know who your uncle and aunt bought the statues from?
Anonymous, are you a descendant of Claude Bell, the artist who created the prospector and burro statues?
Dana Parker
jazzlover01@juno.com
Knott's Berry Farm donated one of the three burro sculptures to the University of Texas at El Paso (then known as Texas Western College of the University of Texas) in 1956. Named Dynamite by students, it now resides in Heritage House, the school's museum.
Thanks so much, P. J. Vierra!
Yes. I was a kid and we also took food to Seldom Seen Slim. He had a bottle type house and a grave yard. I was jumping over a grave he yelled at me and said, Don’t you ever step on a grave. When you are dead and buried do you want people walking on you !! To this day I never walk on a grave. I have his obituary. Later years when I worked at KBF I found some of the history in the museum. That’s when I found out the miner on the corner was Seldom Seen Slim. I couldn’t believe the connection. Here I was now working at a place with a history involving my childhood from when we were stationed at the Naval Base. I worked merchandise in Ghost Town and Roaring 20’s. When we opened Camp Snoopy my suggestion in the contest was High Sierra for the Ferris Wheel. Such beautiful memories in my life and I’m proud to say I was there and worked while the family still owned it. My boss Champ Gabler later opened Peggy Sue’s near Calico. My husband worked weekends at the Hitchin Post and helped with breaks in Ghost Town.
I saw one in an attic recently and took a picture if you'd like me to send it to you I can do that
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