"Miss Adelaide's Farm"
When
I began writing about the Knight estate, a number of readers called to
share their memories and most identified the Knight Estate on East
Avenue with Adelaide Knight, only daughter of Webster Knight, one of
the most influential early twentieth century businessmen and
politicians.
A rose for each lady
Some of the ladies from Warwick remember visiting the main house and
recall that Adelaide, or her nephew, Royal Knight, would conduct them
to the greenhouse. Here, George H. Phillips, the head gardener for many
years, would obligingly answer their questions and then, with a flair,
would cut roses and present one to each lady.
A generous patron
While Adelaide Knight was basically a shy person, nearly everyone in
the Natick Pontiac section knew her by sight and recalled her
generosity and her philanthropy. Following the death of her father,
Webster Knight, in 1933, Adelaide became the dominant figure at the
East Avenue farm. During the 1930s and 1940s, the estate was known as
the "Natick Farm" or "Miss Adelaide's Farm."
While inheriting her father's interest in agriculture and philanthropy,
Adelaide Knight developed a personality and life style far different
from that of the flamboyant Webster Knight. She was a Christian
Scientist, never married, and preferred to live alone in the main house
on the estate. Unlike her father, she did not actively engage in
politics and shunned the publicity that usually accompanied her gifts
to the community.
Ed Phillips, well known Warwick realtor, his father, George H. and his
grandfather, Alvin T. Phillips, all worked for Miss Knight and were
well aware of both her generosity and her idiosyncrasies. Ed noted that
Adelaide was especially liberal with gifts to her workers at Christmas
time. He recalls that, as a teen ager, he would always receive
"something extra special" such as a much sought after baseball glove or
a nice sweater from his employer.
Fringe benefits
Phillips emphasized that working on the Knight Estate was "a good job
to have during the Depression." While the pay was not high by the
standards of the day, there were fringe benefits such as fresh fruit
and vegetables from the Knight garden and extra pay for special tasks.
The Phillips also lived in a house on Blade Street in Natick, not far
from the Knight Farm.
Stories about Miss Knight also emphasize that while generous, she was
also frugal. Her house was heated by a coal stove and furnace. Miss
Knight would most often buy the large size coal, which was less
expensive, and have the "boys" on the farm use hammers to break the
coal into small pieces. Not only did she save on the price of coal, she
also kept the young workers from having too much "idle time" on their
hands.
Hands-on supervision
Adelaide Knight was familiar with all aspects of farming and was as
much at home in Lew Dawley's blacksmith shop or watching her expert
masons build and maintain the stone walls on the estate as she was in
presiding over a formal afternoon tea party. When not supervising,
Adelaide would often don her work clothes and venture into the flower
garden to weed and pick spent flowers from her plants. Until her death
in 1948, she was closely associated with the various cattle and horse
shows in New England. One of the most interesting areas on the estate
was the well-maintained race track.
Ed Phillips recalls how picturesque it was to see the horses go up East
Avenue to the track across the street and how he would help wipe down
and walk the horses under the direction of Milton Mason, who was in
charge of the prize animals.
The story of the Knight Estate will be continued.
Ed
Phillips and his father and grandfather were well acquainted with this
lovely carriage house when it contained both horse drawn carriages and,
later, automobiles.
Photo by Don D’Amato