Description
The Knoll House is a weathered, hand-hewn square timbered structure currently located on Chilanko Creek near Chilanko Forks. The building consists of a single-story sod-roofed section with a two-story Gambrel (barn-style) roofed addition, connected by a covered walkway. The historic place consists of the building on its footprint only.
Heritage Value
The Knoll House is valued as a rare example of early Norwegian settlement in the Chilcotin, which helped establish rural ranching in the region, which today is a vital part of the economy.
Built entirely from locally obtained materials, this historic ranch house is valued as an example of the independent, resourceful rural character of early settlers in the central Chilcotin plateau. The Knoll House is valued for its use for many years as the home and ranch headquarters of the prominent ranching Knoll family.
The hand-hewn timbers and locking dovetailed corner construction are valued as an example of skilled turn-of-the-century European craftsmanship. The adze-hewn beams and the Norwegian saddle notched corners in the original section are valued as rare examples of early Norwegian craftsmanship.
The Knoll house is also valued as one of the last remaining structures built by the first non-aboriginal settlers in the Chilcotin in the late nineteenth century. The first, single storey section was built by Mr. & Mrs. Ole Nygard, who arrived with a group of Norwegian settlers who settled in Hagensborg in 1894,
fleeing the recession in the eastern US. The Nygards raised cattle at Chilanko Forks but went back to the Bella Coola valley in 1914 after selling to Arthur Knoll.
The addition, built by the Knolls family, is valued for its evidence of the evolution of the building footprint in response to the needs of the growing family.
Character Defining Elements
- Original sod roof on the first single-storey section
- Hand-hewn squared timbers and locking dovetail corners
- Original section hand-crafted by adze, as evident by the perfectly square smooth timbers
- Two-story standing cement chimney
- Hand-crafted staircase
- Cedar-shake gambrel roof on the addition
Additional information on Knoll House Heritage Site