In 1914, after secretly running Knox Gelatine for six years, Rose Knox revealed that she’d assumed her deceased husband’s position as the company’s president.
As President of company from 1908 to 1947, she drew on traditional ideals of domesticity and womanhood to turn the company into an iconic American brand and herself into a business celebrity.
Called the “Grand Old Lady of Johnstown,” Knox was one of the most famous entrepreneurial women of the early 20th century.
On her first day in charge, Rose Knox closed the factory’s back door, saying men and women were equal and separate doors were not needed. She went on to create a five-day work week for her employees, gave them paid vacations, and unlimited sick leave, more rare then than it is today.
Rose Knox (1857-1950) is still a household name in Johnstown, in Fulton County, NY for the Knox Athletic Field, the Knox School, her gifts to churches, and the Knox Gelatine factory, which employed Johnstown residents between 1891 and 1972.
Many foodies and those who remember their mothers’ kitchens recall Knox Gelatine and its iconic orange box, which is still in use today.
Knox was a very popular brand from the 1920s to the 1950s, and used to make tomato aspics, desserts, and molds with fruit, vegetables, or meats.
Rose Knox built the brand by applying a combination of creativity, resilience, leadership, and a keen eye for brand definition and differentiation.
Without telling the public, she assumed control of Knox in 1908 after her husband died at the age of 50. At a time when women were not expected to run major businesses, she then crafted a public image that blended traditional domestic ideals with savvy, innovative marketing and leadership.
The persona she developed was unusual for the time, as she displayed both her care of home, family, and community and commonsense business management – a skill which she said all women had.
By melding the ideals of domesticity with business competence, Knox subverted cultural norms, helped change conceptions of women in business and created a respected national persona for herself.
While gelatine may seem retro today, its low-cost flexibility made it a kitchen staple until the 1970s and Knox became nationally famous, grew revenues eight-fold and built a million-dollar company.
Millions of women found her example inspiring, loved her recipes, and admired her balancing of home and business, even though she didn’t outwardly support the suffrage movement, and never argued against the household and domestic expectations placed on women.
A new biography by Rachel Greenfield, Rose Knox: How One Woman Mixed Kitchen and Boardroom to Remold an American Business (Cornell Univ. Press, 2026) intersperses gelatine recipes from the Knox brand throughout Knox’s story — including Fruit Salad Sweet, Tomato Jelly Molded with Eggs, Chocolate Blanc Mange, and Strawberry Bavarian Cream—reminding us how integral gelatine was to kitchens and homes throughout the United States.
“Thanks to an introduction to the Knox family, I have been able to use thousands of never-before-seen business and personal documents from the Knox’s attic in Piseco to reveal the private hardships and public life of Mrs. Knox,” Greenfield told the New York Almanack.
Greenfield majored in History at Vassar College, went into media after Harvard Business School, and worked in publishing, e-books, and the web world for 40 years, including co-founding an e-book publishing company, running the publishing division of Martha Stewart Living, and consulting for web and media start-ups.
Her return to history has begun by answers the question: Who were the first successful businesswomen of the twentieth century? What can they teach us about where we come from and what expectations have affected our behavior?
An important and interesting story of entrepreneurial excellence and resilience despite personal tragedy, Rose Knox contributes to the history of New York and to women in business.
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My grandfather worked at Knox Gelatine and on a tour of Knox Mansion, my mom and I found a picture of him amongst a bunch of photos spread out on the table. Also, I used to teach high school business and Rose Knox was featured in our textbook! I submitted her name to be included in the Women’s History Museum in Seneca Falls. No mention of her there and the volunteers seemed unfamiliar with her. (Also–there are all kinds of exhibits about Eliz. Cady Stanton but no mention that she was born in Johnstown!).