History of Salvation Mountain, the Life Work of Leonard Knight

Born on November 1st, 1931, Leonard Knight was the 4th out of 6 children. After reaching the 10th grade, he quit school to join the military as a vehicle technician. He was sent overseas to fix Jeeps and other equipment during the Korean War. At the end of the war, he headed back to Vermont and continued to be a mechanic.

Leonard Knight’s life took a sudden turn in 1967 when while visiting his sister in Lemon Grove, CA. His sister insisted on taking him to church with her. He had never been a religious man, but something that day spoke to him and changed his life drastically.

With his newfound inspiration, Leonard Knight rushed home to Vermont to build a hot air balloon. But not just any hot air balloon. A MASSIVE one! He began this project in 1971. Leonard thought that flying high above the masses would be a fantastic way to spread his message. He attempted to build the balloon for 10 years, but unfortunately, the lack of funds brought the project to a standstill.

It wasn’t until 1980 that through an odd twist of events, Leonard Knight met a stranger that might be able to help him with his quest. On his way home from visiting his sister in California, the starter on Leonard’s truck decided to go out. Being the crafty mechanic, he found a junkyard in hopes of finding a replacement. The junkyard owner’s name was Copy Jones. When he heard about Leonard’s project, he told Leonard that he would love to help out. Copy contacted a local balloon manufacturer and convinced them to give Leonard their scrap materials. Copy’s wife also decided to pitch in and gave Leonard a sewing machine. Things were coming together!

After several different attempts, Leonard was starting to realize that he was making the balloon way too big. His original design was 200ft x 100ft (over 2 times the size of a regular hot air balloon), making it practically impossible to get off the ground. However, Leonard was unfazed. His last attempt to launch his dream balloon took place in Niland, CA. Unfortunately, by the time he made this attempt, the balloon had rotted. Leonard was back to square one.

Leonard was anything but a quitter. Still wanting some kind of balloon, Leonard hatched a plan to construct an 8ft tall balloon out of concrete near Slab City. He had only intended to stay in Slab City for a week, but he never left.

Unfortunately, the cement balloons turned out to be as problematic as the hot air balloon. He couldn’t get it to stop collapsing due to an improper amount of water in the concrete. He was undeterred to deliver his message. All of the balloons had brought him to his final mission. He wasn’t going to build a balloon, he was going to build a mountain! In 1984, he started on his larger than life project. It had consumed his life completely. He called it “Salvation Mountain”. There were plenty of challenges along the way due to the fact that the location had no electricity or running water. The amount of effort to take all the buckets of clay up the mountain must be unimaginable. But Leonard was finally realizing his dreams of spreading the word of the god.

Fast forward 25 years, Leonard’s dreams have now become a reality. He made the seemingly impossible happen. Now, his mountain stands proudly for everyone to enjoy. Even after the completion of the mountain, Leonard’s work wasn’t over. On several occasions, he had to fight for the rights of the land where the mountain resides.

In 1994, the county tried to turn Slab City into a fee-based campground. However, since Salvation Mountain falls under the religious monument category, the county was unable to make the changes. They then tried to state that the yellow paint used on the mountain was toxic and that the whole mountain had to be removed. They even had their own “soil engineers” test the soil. The phony engineers agreed that the paint was toxic. Leonard then hired independent soil engineers to come and retest the soil. They found nothing wrong with the yellow paint that was used. Leonard won the battle and got a ton of free publicity in the process. His mountain was even featured in the L.A. Times among other news sources.

The Salvation Mountain that we all know and love today is actually its second version. The first version collapsed after a light rain sent it all sliding to the bottom of the mountain. As always, Leonard refused to throw in the towel. He found a stronger combination of materials to use. A new combination of clay and bales of hay seemed to be more resilient to the random desert weather.

Not only did he rebuild, but he also expanded the mountain. Leonard added the section off to the right that is now known as “The Museum”. This hollow structure was going to put his engineering skills to the test. He took the bales of hay and bolted them to support beams. The support beams were branches that Leonard had found while out scavenging in the desert. Visitors to the mountain brought him other supplies like paint and car windows that he build into the museum to let the light in.

Leonard Knight was lucky enough to live on the property and enjoyed his work from one of the old vehicles that were absorbed by his creation. He was always welcoming and more than happy to share his work with anyone that wanted to see it. Everyone is still invited to be absorbed into this masterpiece.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. In 2010, Leonard’s hearing and eyesight began to fail. This forced him to leave his beloved Salvation Mountain and move to a senior living facility in San Diego. He did, however, make the trip out to visit every couple months. He passed away on February 10th, 2014 after battling diabetes along with several other ailments. Even though Leonard may be gone, his powerful message of love still lives on. Due to the harsh climate, the mountain requires almost daily maintenance. Since Leonard’s passing, a nonprofit group called Salvation Mountain Inc. has taken over the task of preserving the mountain for future generations to enjoy.