Sad Eye Joe

I love sad eye Joe. He is a very overlooked attraction at Knotts. In a nutshell you take your young kids to what looks like a wooden outhouse and look inside to find a cowboy mannequin who is motionless. But then the magic happens and you hear the voice of someone speaking to you.
If you played your cards right and met with the older man at the front of the bigger building to your right, you write down basic information about your child. The look of shock and awe on your kids face when the man calls them by name is worth doing. After seven years of coming here yearly, I finally gave up the secret of sad eye Joe to my kids.
My trick was to have the information I wanted to give pre-​written on a piece of paper. I would always tell my wife to meet with sad eye Joe while I «looked at something» that’s when I would quickly deliver my note to the man in front.
Don’t forget to ask why he is in jail.

I left there amazed. How does this thing, that I asked questions to, have all the answers. I threw out all kind of questions and he answered in detail, and so did the others with us. We know that the man in the front of the jail, is who was talking though. Alas, it wss a family member that wrote down personsl stuff about me to give him up front!

Joe is a thief, a horse thief that is… He’s been in jail for a long time. He stole the sheriff’s horse!

Sad eyed Joe at Knotts Berry Farm was a fun experience for the kids. You write down some things about the kids — fav food, where they are from, their name, etc. — and Sad Eyed Joe will have a conversation with them from his jail cell. The kids will be amazed that Joe knows a few things about them!

Stumbled upon Sad Eye Joe in the Ghost Town section of Knott’s Berry Farm. My son got a kick out of talking to Joe so much that he insisted we return so he could talk to Joe again later in the day. Suggestion to parents, visit the building in front of Joe’s jail while the kids stand in line to talk to Joe. There you can write a quick note for Joe to talk to your child about (and they are none the wiser!). Highly recommend!

When you’re strolling through Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm make sure you pay a visit to one of OC’s famous convicts, Sad Eye Joe. He’ll be glad to have a visitor and enjoy the conversation with you.
Located across from the Blacksmith down a small passage way between the Sherrif’s Office and Goldie’s Place. A couple of signs nailed to a post and wall mark the spot.
At the end of the alley is a small jail cell where Sad Eye Joe has been spending his days and nights. Week after week, year after year, decade after decade for over 70 years.
The idea came from Walter Knott and the original Sad Eye Joe head carving was made by Andy Anderson which is now on display in the Knott’s Museum a few short steps away.
In Goldie’s Place, the Ghost Town brothel, in the lower left window sits a live man who is Sad Eye Joe’s voice.
He can see who’s visiting ‘ol Joe and also is the one who yanks a rope making the woman’s pretty leg raise up n down out the 2^nd story window.
I’m sure there’s many variations of how and why Joe got to where he is. From what I heard and read he wanted to visit Goldie but didn’t want to walk so he stole a horse. That horse, however, happened to be the Sherrif’s. Ooops!
Anyhoot…bring the kids, bring a date, bring anyone unaware and secretly give the gentleman at the window a little info and watch their face in disbelief as good ‘ol Sad Eye Joe strikes up a conversation with them.

Sad Eye Joe has been incarcerated way before I was a lil girl, but he has scared the hell outta me for years… til I figured out what the hell was going on.
When you’re at Knott’s and trippin’ through the Ghost Town, near the blacksmith, go say hi. He’s always in the mood for visitors. My lil toddler wants to talk to Sad Eye Joe alone, but he can’t see him through the hole (too short), so he let’s us come with him, only as a boost.

Joe is a must visit when you come to Knotts he is in Ghost Town kinda hidden away in the corner inside the jail! He’s quite fun to talk to and will always give yourself a laugh or anyone that’s with you! He’s generally quite bored so make sure you pay him a visit and ask any random question you want! Last time i told him he needed a bottle of whiskey to help pass his days of sitting in jail he laughed and agreed and then started telling me about his life in jail it was quite entertaining! Definitely will be back to say hi to Joe on my next visit to the Farm!

I first met Joe while on a date about 10 years ago. The guy used to work at Knott’s, in the Ghost Town area in particular, and told me to walk down this little alley section and look in this barred window. He’d catch up, the guy told me.
So I go down that way and peek in the window, only to see this beat-​up, faded and dusty mannequin in there with chained feet and a cowboy hat in a dark room. I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to dummies. I just easily confused them for real people just standing or sitting really still and would spring to life at any moment. Frankly, standing there alone was a bit eerie.
«Heeelllllllooooo, Christine,» a voice emanating from a speaker box turned down way low said.
«Hi?» I said.
«You can talk to me, Christine,» the dummy continued. «It’s all right.»
«How are you?» I humored.
«Oh, well, I’m just sad I’m stuck in here.»
At this point my date comes running up behind me, laughing as though I’d been had. He tells me he went and told the operator my name to scare me, and so on.
Anyway, Sad Eye Joe’s been in the park for over 70 years, managing to outlast the Haunted Shack, the Wacky Soap Box Racers, the Sky Jump parachute ride, the Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, several thrill rides people have long forgotten the names of, and the Knott Family’s ownership.
And he seems to have become more talkative with age, not to mention better looking. With how neglected he seemed only a few years ago, it’s nice to see that despite the demise of the related Haunted Shack, Sad Eye Joe is still getting some attention and care.
Joe’s window is a little high for kids to reach up to talk to him by themselves, and chances are your teenagers aren’t going to get all that excited about conversing with a dummy, animatronic or otherwise. Nope, this is almost exclusively an amusement for the adults who aren’t afraid of the corny and the kitschy.
Next time you’re at Knott’s take some time to visit Joe before you run off to spend an hour in line for a minute-​long ride. He’s been locked up too long and could use a friend.