Knight's Foundry and Shops
Why it's listed
Knight's Foundry and Shops is a group of simple wood-frame gabled and shed-roofed buildings at 13 Eureka Street in Sutter Creek, California. Samuel Newman Knight and his partner George Horne founded it in 1873, and it has remained on its original site, in operation, to the time of the nomination in 1974. The plant includes a foundry with two cupola furnaces, a pattern shop, a pipe-riveting shop, a blacksmith shop and a machine shop. Seven Knight turbines supply water power, and overhead line shafts, belts and pulleys drive the machinery. The foundry served Mother Lode gold mining by producing water wheels, stamp mills, hoisting and pumping machinery. Knight's cup-shaped impulse bucket, introduced around 1870, is credited with making foothill water power practical. Later work included scarifiers and large harbor dredgers made in 1898 and 1902. Knight owned and ran the business until his death in 1913. After a 1936 fire, the exterior walls were re-covered in corrugated iron sheeting.
Significance in brief: The foundry served the Mother Lode gold mining industry by building water turbines, stamp mills and other mining machinery. Samuel N. Knight's cup-shaped impulse water wheel bucket is described as an important engineering advance. The plant is described as perhaps the only shop of its kind still run by water power.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 75000423, listed July 1, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 13 Eureka St., Sutter Creek |
|---|---|
| County | Amador County |
| Listed | July 1, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75000423 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th and 20th Century (specific dates not given) |
| Architect / builder | Samuel Newman Knight and George Horne (founders) |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Engineering, Invention |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in continuous operation on its original site as of July 1974, with the original water-turbine power system unchanged; condition marked good and altered, with exterior walls re-covered in corrugated iron after a 1936 fire. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Coordinates | 38.39356, -120.79995 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 75000423.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q1708896
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.